Theft of mail

[wyzwigcards]

So something interesting occurred at my local post office.   Someone stole about 8 of my envelopes and orders and now the whole mailbox has been removed from the property.   The next day I notice an "Out of Order" sign on the big blue mailbox itself and then it was completely removed today, the whole box.    Is this a police issue or a post office issue?   Either way I have a bunch of customers who will never see their orders and I can file with my local police just not sure what outcome to expect.   Each letter had tracking on it and it's showing that it is going no where.   Hard to say

[slippinjimmy]

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@dogofwar777 wrote:

This has happened in my city. All the mail blue mail boxes have been removed all over the city with the exception of two I know about. Now folks have to go in and dump their letters. I don't mind it so much because it's more secure.

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Similar in my area, boxes are being vandalized, sometimes with the contents being stolen and sometime not but in either case they are damaged to such an extent that they are not usable. In some locations the boxes are replaced (takes months) in others they are never replaced.

The amount of mail being deposited in blue boxes has been declining for years, even where vandalism is not an issue more and more boxes are being removed because the cost of checking them daily isn't justified by the minimal volume deposited.

Years ago there was 6 blue boxes within a 5 minute walk of my house, now there is only 1.

[powell-memorabilia]

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@toysaver wrote:

... and use gel ink pens that can't be washed off checks.

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Better yet, stop writing checks.  Online banking allows for sending checks to anyone.  Free to do so with my bank, and I’d assume most others.  I don’t even have to pay for postage.

[chapeau-noir]

It's weird - property crimes of all kinds in general have plummeted, but mail theft is up. I suspect the USPS, particularly under DeJoy, is not finding many of those blue boxes to be cost effective (with first class letter mail decreasing) and getting rid of them in lieu of implementing better security.

But we've had problems with mail theft in my area for years.

[gloryglorygifts]

Until it hits the destination house and then it is vulnerable to the porch pirates.

[luckythewinner]

If a crime has been committed what police 'wish' to do is irrelevant.  If a victim comes forward they can't just shrug their shoulders. 

Police absolutely have discretion about how they allocate their resources and which crimes they focus on. And if the OP is not accusing a specific person of stealing his mail, there is no one he can press charges against.

Mail theft can be a felony depending on what is taken and where, statutes vary by state

I suspect that theft from a blue box at a post office would be a federal matter involving the postal inspectors.

[itsjustasprain]

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@chapeau-noir wrote:

But we've had problems with mail theft in my area for years.

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Our local PO has their outside drop boxes built into the end wall of the post office with a little drive-thru lane passing by - so no worries about break-ins or theft from those.

Another PO near us used to have 3 blue bins outside behind their building with access through their parking lot. Those got broken into several times and one day the PO just took them all out. The space where the bins were was empty for something approaching a year when a single new box suddenly appeared. It looks pretty much like the older ones (including the narrow slot) so I don't know if they are really doing anything different at that location other than maybe improving their video security around it.

[billythekid16]

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@luckythewinner wrote:

Mail theft can be a felony depending on what is taken and where, statutes vary by state

I suspect that theft from a blue box at a post office would be a federal matter involving the postal inspectors.

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Do not touch that master key which opens all the blue boxes. Just possessing that thing will get you 25 years federal time. Most, if not all, bad guys never realize this consequence until the police arrest them and find that key in their pocket.