The holiday season is back once again, and with it comes the inevitable and unwelcome spike in stolen packages and delivery driver assaults.
According to the Postal Police Officers Association, in the last three years, the number of US Postal Service workers assaulted on the job has increased by 231%.
Data from the US Postal Service shows that in 2020, 412 mail carriers were robbed, and in just the first half of this year, the number sits at 305.
Even worse, from 2018 to 2021, the number of postal workers robbed by armed assailants jumped from 36 to 154, according to the United States Postal Inspection Service.
The increase in robberies has gone so far that delivery drivers and mail carriers across the country have held “Enough is Enough” rallies via the National Association of Letter Carriers.
“Word is clearly out among criminals on the streets, leaving letter carriers unfairly forced to defend themselves,” Brian Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, said in a recent column. “These conditions that once seemed unimaginable are the norm now. It is sickening, and it is wrong.”
Rallies have been held in Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, and more.
According to Michael Martel, a US Postal Inspection Service National Public Information Officer, thieves have been targeting “arrow keys,” which postal workers use to open most postal boxes, Fox News reported.
New efforts have been implemented to combat theft and robberies, including installing new mail collection boxes with increased security features, and 6,5000 election locks.
The upgrades are part of the USPS’s “Project Safe Delivery.”
Law enforcement has also been on alert, as local agencies and the USPIS have made more than 530 arrests for mail theft and 109 arrests for robberies.
Martel says that more focus is being placed on crime as the holiday season starts.
“There is certainly increased opportunity for mail theft to occur around the holiday season,” Martel said. “The Postal Service and project safe delivery will continue through the holidays to keep American mail and our employees safe.”