The United States Postal Service paused deliveries to an entire Seattle zip code for a week because of a crime crisis in the city.
Around 900 residents in the 98118 zip code did not receive their mail as delivery services were halted due to mail theft and ‘equipment security concerns’. They were told to pick up their mail from the local post office and stood in long queues of up to an hour before USPS lifted the ban.
Thieves had stolen a master key which is used by the USPS to open collection boxes, cluster box units and outdoor parcel lockers. Reports say that the move came as data provided by the Postal Inspection Service showed robberies of postal carriers across the US had quadrupled over 10 years and that weapons were used in most of the 496 robberies last year.
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It showed that in the first half of the 2023 fiscal year, 305 letter carriers were robbed with more than 25,000 reports of high-volume theft incidents from mail receptacles. The robberies have seen USP carriers threatened with guns.
Residents in the 98118 zip code claimed they only found out that their deliveries were paused through neighbors or on Facebook.
A USPS spokesman said: “Mail delivery to less than 900 residents in parts of south Seattle was affected because of equipment security concerns. Improvements to the affected equipment were made, and all mail was delivered to the impacted residents.
“We appreciate the patience and understanding of the community as we work to preserve the safety and sanctity of the mail.”
Reports say that Seattle’s violent crime rate is at a 15-year high based on its annual crime statistics from 2022, with 5,642 cases reported, including 52 murders, 321 rapes, 1,759 robberies and 3,510 aggravated assaults.
The Daily Mail reports that Seattle, governed by Democrat Mayor Bruce Harrell since taking charge in January 2022, has a growing number of homeless encampments. The Democrat-controlled city dedicated $173m towards its homeless crisis last year but has been unable to stop the increase in camps.
Robberies of postal carriers often involves taking their master key to open collection boxes, cluster box units and parcel lockers. The USPS and the United States Postal Inspection Service revealed earlier this month it is increasing safety measures to stop mail theft and protect its carriers from attacks.
Louis DeJoy, Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The men and women of the postal service are walking our nation’s streets every day to fulfil our mission of delivering mail and packages to the American people.
“Every Postal employee deserves to work in safety and to be free from targeting by criminals.”
