Yes ,thank you ,I did

Hello Maria, I noticed your car has been displayed on Google Maps since December 2015. You can see it here. https://www.google.com/maps/place/439+Edgewood+Ave,+New+Haven,+CT+06511/@41.3149443,-72.9496823,3a,75y,0.45h,79.22t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sB8u9L0zUObrCVeaCfkbKvQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DB8u9L0zUObrCVeaCfkbKvQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dsearch.TACTILE.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D86%26h%3D86%26yaw%3D21.87594%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e7d906d17589b9:0x13a8c6eb865cc268!8m2!3d41.3151216!4d-72.9495815

Is it possible car thieves are using Google Maps to find targets to steal? It's possible, but not probable. Most thieves have virtually no online skills. Also, there have been other cars stolen or broken into recently in New Haven that were not displayed on Google Maps.

I can't understand how cars in New Haven can be stolen without having been captured on public video surveillance cameras. As of June 2016, there were more than 200 cameras installed throughout neighborhoods and according to an article in the New Haven Register, "Police use the footage to solve robberies, get information on traffic accidents, and to identify potential suspects and witnesses."

HI Tommy, Thank you for taking the time to look into this and for your message. Several minivans owned by my family have been stolen from this exact place throughout the years. Unfortunately, the crime occurred on a rainy, windy, dark early morning, so I agree that this was probably a run-of-the-mill theft.

When our vehicles were stolen in the past (again, this is unfortunately not the first or fifth time this has happened), the NHPD has been completely unreliable. They refuse to take any measures until 15 hours after the report is made, which is an abomination and utterly useless. It takes no more than 1 hour max for a vehicle to disappear potentially forever. Further, NHPD prohibits searching for a car without an officer, since doing so is "stalking", which classifies as a crime.

Do you have any suggestions for pushing NHPD to actually do what they claim and access the cameras across the neighborhoods? In the probable case that the vehicle has crossed state lines, is there a way to access that information, or ask for it to be looked into? Are you aware of any contacts in the community who could help push for potential information from surveillance cameras?

My family is desperate and this is heartbreaking. We are a family of three adults, three children, and two elderly grandparents (who live in another part of New Haven but rely on us for transportation and everyday support). This was our only vehicle. We have no other vehicle. Please please, if you have any contacts or any way to urge anyone, including the NHPD, we would be very grateful for anything you could offer.

If there is anyone else who was notified regarding this crime reading this comment, please please reach out. We must rely on the community we live in and contribute to in times of need, we can only be strong together!

I'm not employed with the city of New Haven, so I'm not sure the following information is 100% correct, but I always enjoy investigating things that appear to be neglected by our city. Here is the information I found:

Public surveillance cameras are controlled by the "New Haven Office of Emergency Management" at 200 Orange Street. Currently, the Deputy Director is Mr. Rick Fontana. He can be reached at 203-946-8224.

Allegedly, access to video footage might not be free. Proposed fees in June 2016 ranged from $75.00 to $300.00. PERHAPS THESE FEES DO NOT APPLY TO VICTIMS OF CRIME.

It is possible access to video footage might require a Freedom of Information Act request. If this is true, written requests can be submitted to the City Clerk's office also at 200 Orange Street. Their phone number is 203-946-8349.

If you choose to pursue these actions, be prepared for the "runaround". It's possible everyone will tell you to contact someone else. I've found from personal experience one of the best ways to alleviate this kind of treatment is to ask for each person's name and that person's supervisor's name and how to spell them. This helps to keep them on their toes.

Keep in mind, some of this information might not be accurate, but at least I tried. If any employees of New Haven are offended by this post, they need only blame themselves for not having set processes easily and readily available to the public.

Here are some of the web pages from which I found information on this subject.
https://www.newhavenct.gov/gov/depts/emergency_info/default.htm
https://www.newhavenct.gov/gov/depts/clerk/default.htm
http://www.nhregister.com/connecticut/article/New-Haven-aims-to-update-policy-on-surveillance-11329380.php

Hi Maria, I noticed your car is on a website for stolen cars at http://stolencar.com/Report/View/12466 There are a few technical issues I thought I should bring to your attention. Above the picture of your car, there is a button that says, "Submit a Tip". Well, I clicked on that button, but there appears to be a parser error on the 6th line of the code. In vernacular, the button doesn't work so nobody can submit any tips. The site's webmaster will need to fix that. Also, the VIN listed for your car on that website only has 5 digits. Every car's VIN consists of 17 digits. I noticed the same error with every car listed on their website, so I guess it's supposed to be that way.

The vehicle was found by the Hamden Police Department and has returned to our family.

We had to pay the towing fee, although we were assured several times by the NHPD we would not have to do so, but it is what it is and we are EXTREMELY GRATEFUL for the vehicle's return. Thank you very very much to everyone for your thoughts and energies, especially many thanks to you, Tommy!! With your thoughtful advice we have learned much about the NHPD and what avenues are available to us in these sorts of situations.

For those looking for advice, the NHPD does NOT allow you to view security camera footage without a subpoena/a lawyer/$$$. If you're not well connected, the NHPD will of course treat you like a non-citizen, saying straight to your face that "it's almost 5, my shift is over, and you're wasting my time" when you ask for help. Like I mentioned before, the NHPD will NOT search for a vehicle until 1.5 hours have passed, or until all towing companies in the area check in for the business day, which could be 12+ hours, depending on the time of the theft. Even if the vehicle was stolen in front of your eyes, the NHPD will NOT attempt a search or follow, until at least the 1.5 hours have passed, which is plenty of time to strip a vehicle completely (thankfully, this did not happen in our situation). Clearly the NHPD has bigger fish to fry, like policing in front of the Starbucks at the corner of High St. and Chapel St. at the center of the precious Town of Yale, etc, etc.

And finally, we are grateful to the absolutely immoral hooligans who were intelligent enough to be driving around Hamden (a whole town over!), drunk (given the evidence), in a quiet residential area, in a stolen vehicle, probably hot-boxing (given the evidence), blasting the radio (given the evidence), late at night, on a Friday (as the police are more on the lookout for drunk drivers). Thanks to your stupid behavior, the car was scanned, the plates were checked, and the theft discovered. What did you think was going to happen? No thanks for completely trashing our car, irrevocably damaging the interior. Knowing you and your friends are locals, we hope that somehow you read this one day and remind yourself and those around you:
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

Maria,
It's great to hear you got your car back and thanks for the info about NHPD processes.