City crime down
Auto thefts only category to rise this year so far
DANBURY – The good news is major crime is down 13 percent in the Hat City for the first four months of the year.
The bad news: auto theft continues to rise – up 61 percent so far this year – compared to the same four-month period in 2018, according to police department statistics.
“This is part of a statewide issue having to do with juveniles and how they are treated,” Mayor Mark Boughton said about the increase in motor vehicle thefts. “Under current law if you are a minor, you are not held accountable.”
A state law allowing courts to transfer juveniles charged with car theft to adult court based on their criminal history takes effect in October.
Danbury’s year-to-date statistics, which include crime in eight major categories – murder, rape, robbery, assault, burglary, theft, auto theft and arson – are not official until they are submitted to the state at the end of the year.
The numbers show a total of 315 major crimes in Danbury for the first four months of 2019, compared to 361 crimes for the same period in 2018.
Low crime is nothing new in Danbury, which is routinely ranked one of the
safest big cities in Connecticut.
The exception was 2018, when police reported that major crime rose 4.7 percent over the previous year. That increase was driven mostly by an increase in car theft, which jumped 60 percent.
In contrast, crime in the eight major categories reported to the state decreased by double digits in 2017, 2016 and 2015.
Boughton said a major reason for the city’s low crime rate is Danburians are too busy working to have time for crime.
“We have the lowest unemployment rate in the state, and I have always said there is a nexus between that and the crime rate,” Boughton said. “People have other ways of accessing wealth, so they are not prone to crime.”