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Westfield council says police are stepping up response after recent spike in car thefts

Westfield Town Council · January 14, 2026

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Summary

Mayor and town administrator said the police department is using staff, undercover patrols, 25 license-plate readers and drones after a six-week rise in vehicle thefts; council urged coordination with state legislators and continued committee attention.

Westfield’s mayor and town officials told residents Wednesday that the town is taking a recent six-week uptick in vehicle thefts seriously and described a multi-pronged police response.

“I want to be very clear. We are taking the situation seriously and we are treating these incidences with the urgency they deserve,” the mayor said, opening the council’s first regular meeting of 2026. The mayor said the town has been kept fully apprised of developments by “Chief Battiloro” and thanked residents for reporting incidents.

Town Administrator Jim Gilday told the council the police department is fully staffed and has invested in technology to help locate stolen vehicles. “We have license plate readers,” Gilday said, adding the town has 25 license-plate readers positioned around Westfield. He said the department also uses drones and undercover supplemental patrols and described recent arrests connected to incidents on Seneca and Coolidge.

Gilday said license-plate readers and coordinated patrols help the department “triangulate where those cars are” and, where possible, intercept or apprehend suspects. He characterized the problem as regional, noting neighboring communities and proximity to transport nodes can make vehicle thefts easier to commit and move out of town.

The mayor said the council has reached out to newly elected state Assembly members Andrew McCurdy and Vincent Carney to press for state-level measures and that the Public Safety, Transportation and Parking Committee (chaired by Councilwoman Gilman) met for 90 minutes earlier and will continue to prioritize the issue.

The council did not adopt any new local ordinance or emergency regulation at the meeting; officials said investigative work and intergovernmental coordination would continue and that the police department would maintain targeted enforcement and surveillance actions.