Bridgeport police say they're cracking down on car thefts in the city in response to a dramatic spike in the problem both locally and statewide.

A car stolen from a resident who had parked it in front of his house was later recovered thanks to an undercover program launched by the Bridgeport Police Department.

Police Chief AJ Perez says with car thefts up dramatically across the region, the problem will require not only extra care by car owners, but also a resolve on behalf of police departments to fight the problem at its source.

Perez says security lights have a powerful effect in deterring residential car thefts.

Resident Wayne Winston recently had his car stolen and says he would welcome any deterrent to avoid a repeat of that experience. 

"You're just like, 'My God, my car is stolen.' The violation is just horrible," he says.

Police say the vehicles they get back are only a fraction of those that get stolen.

Police across western Connecticut have been urging people to lock their vehicles due to the recent spike in auto thefts.