WASHINGTON — The United States Postal Service and United States Postal Inspection Service have announced expanded actions to protect postal employees and the security of the nation’s mail and packages as threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail fraud incidents have escalated with a national rise in crime.
“We’re doubling down on our efforts to protect our postal employees and the security of the mail. We are hardening targets – both physical and digital – to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice,” said Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale.
Incidents of letter carrier robberies are on the rise across the nation. In Fiscal year 2022, 412 USPS letter carriers were robbed on the job. With 305 incidents reported in the first half of Fiscal year 2023, these incidents are increasingly more prevalent. Additionally, the agency reported an increase in high volume mail theft incidents from mail receptacles, including blue collection boxes: 38,500 in FY22 and more than 25,000 in the first half of FY23.