Rash of Recent Petty Crimes Apparently Coincidence

It might seem that there is a pattern to the spate of petty crime that has occured in recent weeks in this normally peaceful region. But State Police say there appears to be no rhyme or reason to everything from a missing holiday wreath to a stolen car.

Troop B’s commanding officer, Lt. Scott Anderson, said it's likely that the vandlism was done by a "crew" or crews of young people with a vehicle, but that’s where the similarities among the incidents end.

The early signs of trouble came with the November elections. Signs touting candidates from both parties disappeared from front lawns, and no one ever figured out who was taking them.

On Thanksgiving weekend, a driver did "doughnuts" on the front lawn of Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village. It happened again on Dec. 13. Damage was in the thousands of dollars. In both cases, the damage was discovered by school personnel.

At the nearby D.M. Hunt Library in Falls Village, a broken window was discovered on Dec. 14.

Sometime over the previous weekend, in North Canaan, the back of the elementary school was spray-painted. Two youngsters (under driving age) were pinpointed in that case. That weekend also brought a report of someone trying to break into a car parked in a lot in the middle of town.

In an adjacent lot reserved for residents of Railroad Street apartments, a large rock was thrown at a car windshield on New Year's Eve. Apparently, the projectile was thrown from a car by a man who then sped off. The size and heft of the rock indicated that the incident was not a random, unplanned act, especially since the car was parked in a row along with several others. But the vehicle’s owners say they don’t know what would have provoked someone to target them.

On Dec. 28, two North Canaan car dealers reported the hoods had been scratched on several vehicles. A juvenile was arrested a week later.

On Jan. 3, an East Canaan Road resident reported prescription drugs stolen from her home.

In Salisbury, a car was stolen from the driveway of a Riga Road home on Dec. 13. A Housatonic Rover Road home was broken into the following day. A roadside sign was stolen from Lakeville's Wake Robin Inn, and a wreath was stolen right off the front door of John Harney Real Estate on Academy Street in Salisbury village. That was followed by the discovery on Jan. 3 of break-in at a building at the Town Grove; several power tools were stolen.

In Kent, the historic covered bridge at Bulls Bridge was spray-painted in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, as was the Fife and Drum Restaurant, right on Route 7 in the center of town. First Selectman Ruth Epstein said the spray-painted words were essentially gibberish, and offered no clues to who painted them. A professional was hired to clean the bridge, at a cost of $600. "It was disturbing because someone defaced an historic landmark," Epstein said. "The resident trooper is investigating it. The incidents only occurred that night, so we are guessing it was someone passing through and it won’t happen again."

Lt. Anderson said it doesn’t seem likely that these incidents are connected, but sometimes the last piece of a puzzle falls into place and makes the pattern apparent.

He agreed that what residents fear most in the Northwest Corner is the specter of crime encroaching on a part of the world where people still leave their front doors unlocked. It makes for ambivalence when it comes to security. Some say they’d rather take the risk than be forced to find their house key.

The sound of a car alarm being activated is still a rarity, and it remains the assumption by "locals" that anyone who turns on their car alarm is not from around here.

From the law enforcement standpoint, victims are often "enablers" of criminals. Recent cases, however, have nothing to do with a casual attitude toward security.

What residents can do is help police by paying attention. It is not apathy, or fear of getting involved, so much as a lack of suspicion that allows burglars to enter neighbors' homes undetected while others are close by.

"That’s one reason to have a resident state trooper," Anderson observed. "They may not investigate every case in town, but they know about them, and they get the big picture."

On a December evening, while North Canaan Resident State Trooper Bob Janco was preparing his case against the school vandals, a call came in to Troop B. Youngsters were running through the school hallways and loitering behind the school and Town Hall. Twenty minutes later, Janco stopped a Canaan Youth Basketball game, stepped into the middle of the gym floor and sternly advised parents to supervise their children.

The thing to do when witnessing a crime or reckless driving, of course, is to call 911. But Anderson said citizens shouldn’t be apprehensive about calling Troop B at its business number — 860-824-2500 — to report a suspicious situation or to offer information, no matter how trivial it may seem.

"The dispatch trooper who answers the phone will take the information and pass it along to the investigating trooper. Almost every case solved here is because an eyewitness stepped forward, maybe with a description of a vehicle or something that ties evidence together. In small towns, it is very hard to be anonymous, and people talk, kids brag to each other. The best deterrent is not allowing criminals to get away with crime."

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