WASHINGTON, D.C. – During the pandemic and the years following that, financial crimes, like mail theft, surged. In a congressional hearing before members recessed, law enforcement officials and investigators testified it’s still an issue today. However, the postal service has seen a significant decrease in mail-related crimes due to the initiatives they’re taking.
From coast to coast, the United States Postal Service is charged with getting mail to every address in America.
“The postal service has a constitutional mandate and is a lifeline for Americans,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D- FL). “Particularly in rural communities and hard to reach areas.”
Congressional members said beginning about five years ago during the pandemic, one message was being delivered: mail theft and postal worker robberies skyrocketed.
“There was 845 percent increase in letter carrier robberies from 2019 to 2023,” said Rep. Pete Sessions (R- TX).
Federal officials testified that mail theft and mail-related crimes has been organized by criminal groups who shifted from high risk, high reward crimes like drug smuggling to low risk, high reward financial crimes.
“Although there is no single cause likely for this shift, it could be due to the part first to mask the pandemic relief fraud perpetrated during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Brendan Donahue, US Postal Inspection Service, Inspector in Charge. “Second, the proliferation of cyber techniques that facilitate the perpetration of financial crime and third a lax of prosecutorial and sentencing climate for property and crimes in some US jurisdictions.”
To counter these issues, the postal service launched “Project Safe Delivery” in 2023. They installed more secured collection boxes, replaced antiquated airlocks and getting more law enforcement help with arrests and investigations, and more. They’re already seeing progress being made.
“Last fiscal year we saw a 27 percent decrease in letter carrier robberies and this fiscal year we are on track to see a decrease of 32 percent decrease in letter carrier robberies,” reported Donahue.
Brian Renfroe, the president of the National Association of Letter Carriers said more still needs to be done.
“The majority of those who rob our postal service are getting away with it without any consequences,” said Renfroe. “The Department of Justice must prosecute these violent crimes.”
