Thieves are back at it with St. Albert community mailboxes. There’s been a rash of reports of hacking open boxes in hopes of finding valuable items or documents, as well as thefts from cars, according to Cst. MJ Burroughs, community policing and public information officer with the St. Albert RCMP detachment.
“St. Albert RCMP have seen a significant rise in mail thefts over the past month and are encouraging citizens to follow these crime prevention tips to help protect themselves from being victimized,” Burroughs said.
Checking your mailbox daily, as soon as possible after delivery, will decrease the odds of culprits getting your mail and personal ID.
”If you are going out of town, have someone you trust collect your mail daily or contact Canada Post to hold your mail until you return,” Burroughs said.
Mailboxholders should track parcel deliveries and report any mail theft to police, report damage or tampering with the mailbox to Canada Post.
“Do not send cash in the mail,” she said.
Around St. Albert, the frustration of community mailbox customers is generating chatter on social media.
At Everitt on the Lake, Lois Galloway’s box was busted into.
“(It’s frustrating) that someone breaks into the mailboxes, cutting off the locks, causing disruption to the mail system,” said Galloway.
“We were waiting for important government documents that only come via mail, thankfully they weren’t stolen and we did receive them. But it was a huge pain having to get new keys when the mailbox was fixed.”
Almost a decade ago, St. Albert and Sturgeon County were among the first communities selected by Canada Post to lose door-to-door delivery as a cost-cutting measure originally introduced by the Conservatives. At that time, in St. Albert and in Sherwood Park, almost 100 per cent of residential addresses were converted to community boxes.
The retrofitting program was halted by the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but new construction subdivisions pretty much everywhere—including Edmonton—are outfitted with communal boxes.
After moving to St. Albert, Mario D’Agostini remembers the good old days of door-to-door delivery in nearby Edmonton.
“It’s frustrating because sometimes you don’t know what the thieves have taken. Go back to delivering mail to house like they do in Edmonton,” D’Agostini said.
The Canada Post website touts community mailboxes as “secure, convenient, 24/7 access to your mail and parcels.”
The effectiveness of cost-cutting and impacts of the Covid pandemic on the postal system haven’t been completely tabulated, but in 2021, revenues were up, with Canada Post reporting losses averaging over $100 million per quarter, a major improvement over the prior year.
The Canada Post website asks those who notice thefts to report it.
“If you see an overturned or vandalized street mailbox, call us at 1-800-267-1177.
If you see suspicious activity at your mailbox, report immediately to your local police,” the site says.
If you’re missing an expected parcel, ask the sender to start a claim with Canada Post at 1-800-267-1177.
Worried about identity fraud? Contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.
