Connecticut Law Focuses on Teens Charged With Repeat Motor Vehicle Thefts

Connecticut has updated its criminal justice laws to speed up law enforcement’s responses when young people are charged with repeated motor vehicle theft and other crimes.

Gov. Ned Lamont has signed the bipartisan law (Public Act 22-115) that supporters hope will help connect youth with services and treatment to reduce recidivism.

The new law requires that youth who are arrested but not detained be brought before the court within five business days; allows courts to formally order that a youth be assessed for services; and allows courts to order GPS monitoring for a youth charged with a second or subsequent motor vehicle offense.

It also establishes a new structure for motor vehicle thefts with penalties that grow more serious for subsequent offenses rather than basing penalties on the value of the vehicle.

The law also grants municipal police officers access to electronic records containing statewide pending charges and 90 days of prior arrest records.

“These updates to Connecticut’s criminal justice statutes make juvenile arrest and delinquency proceedings swifter with more information for courts to review, provide more intensive responses to the small number of juveniles with serious and repeated charges, and restructure motor vehicle theft laws to focus on people with prior offenses,” Lamont said.

Topics Auto Fraud Connecticut