CRIME
USPS Announces Over 600 Arrests In Crackdown On Mail Theft And Carrier Robberies
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The U.S. Postal Service and its Postal Inspection Service on Wednesday announced more than 600 arrests have been made since May in a crackdown on increasing mail theft and carrier robberies.
Project Safe Delivery, announced in May, is an ongoing initiative to combat a rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers along with mail theft and organized postal crime.
Postal inspectors initiated law enforcement surges in Chicago, San Francisco, and cities across Ohio, described as major metropolitan regions facing significant threats from organized postal crime. More than 600 arrests were made since May, including 109 arrests for robbery and more than 530 arrests for mail theft.
“As our nation continues to address a sustained crime wave, our targeted focus to crack down on postal crime is progressing,” Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy said in a statement. “The safety of our letter carriers — and all postal employees — is our top priority. We will continue to work steadfastly with our law enforcement partners to increase the safety of our employees and protect the sanctity of the nations mail.”
In addition to criminal investigations, the Postal Service has undertaken prevention activities to protect employees, including hundreds of presentations on employee safety and mail theft prevention.
The Postal Service has also installed more than 10,000 high-security blue collection boxes nationwide since May, and plans to install several thousand more. The upgraded blue boxes are more difficult for criminals to access, officials said.
To deter letter carrier robberies, the Postal Service said it is replacing antiquated Arrow locks and Modified Arrow Locks (MAL). Criminals target letter carriers for the Arrow and MAL keys, which open secure mail receptacles. To make the keys less valuable to criminals, the Postal Service said it replaced more than 6,500 Arrow locks with electronic locks in select cities, and plans to deploy another 42,500 electronic locks nationwide.
“We have effectively focused our efforts with USPS on hardening both physical and digital targets to combat threats to postal employees and secure the mail. We continue to turn up the pressure and put potential perpetrators on notice; If you attack Postal employees, steal the mail, or commit other postal crimes, Postal Inspectors will bring you to justice,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale.
“We ask that the public assist us with our mission. Our rewards for information have increased substantially, highlighting the importance of the safety and security of our employees and the mail. If you see something, say something, and help us bring to justice those that cause harm to postal employees, steal mail, or commit other postal crimes, Barksdale said.
The updated rewards range from $100,000 for information leading to an arrest in cases of postage or meter tampering, theft of mail, and burglary of a post office; $150,000 in cases of robbery or assault on a postal employee; and $250,000 in cases of murder or manslaughter of a postal employee.
TMX contributed to this article.
