(WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The federal government is finally taking action to protect letter carriers who face the threat of robbery for the mailbox keys that they carry, U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said.
Under Project Safe Delivery, postal officials will replace 49,000 locks with modern electronic locks and also install 12,000 high-security collection boxes, the Illinois Democrat announced Friday.
Criminals have targeted letter carriers because they carry antiquated master keys that unlock mailboxes across a zip code.
Durbin says he has pressed Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to modernize the system and make it safer.
“Postmaster General DeJoy has finally listened to reason and taken my advice to step up and protect our letter carriers and the integrity of our postal system,” the senator said. “Eliminating these arrow keys is one way to reduce the motivation for criminals to target letter carriers.”
In 2022, there were 412 armed robberies against letter carriers, up from 154 armed robberies in 2021, according to Durbin’s office. There have been 305 reported incidents so far in 2023.
Durbin said he’s pushing for additional security enhancements.
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