Renewed attention has been raised to the running issue of safety of letter carriers, with introduction of a new bill on Capitol Hill and the USPS issuing an unusual statement criticizing a court decision in a case involving an attack on one.
The USPS, its inspector general’s office, the Postal Inspection Service and postal unions have been highlighting the issue of crimes in recent years, citing robberies—sometimes armed—of mail carriers and theft of keys to streetside mailboxes, apartment panels and cluster boxes. An IG report last year said the inspection service logged more than 2,000 assaults or robberies of carriers over 2020-2022, more than double the prior rate.
A newly offered bipartisan House bill (HR-7629) would “ensure that the Department of Justice appropriately prosecutes crimes committed against letter carriers through designating an assistant in every U.S. Attorney’s office to coordinate and supervise the investigation and prosecution of alleged offenses committed against letter carriers,” sponsors said.
It also would amend sentencing guidelines so that any assault or robbery committed against a letter carrier has a more severe sentence recommendation and add funds for USPS to replace legacy streetside mail boxes with more secure versions.
That came as the USPS criticized as “simply unacceptable” a court ruling imposing only a 30 day sentence for the armed robbery of a letter carrier in San Francisco.
“This sends a concerning message of encouragement to our nation’s criminals and a message of disregard to our loyal public servants, who deserve better protection and reassurance that the law will take crimes against them seriously. America’s postal workers are entitled to feel protected as they go about their public service mission, and at a minimum should be able to take solace in knowing that the law protects them against crime as they perform their duties, and that any such crimes will be taken seriously by the courts,” said the statement from Postmaster General Louis DeJoy.
The USPS last year began a program called Operation Safe Delivery, which resulted in a surge of arrests following a law enforcement surge in several metropolitan regions with the highest rates of crimes against the agency and its employees. It also involves replacing legacy mailboxes; increasing rewards for information leading to the arrest and conviction of persons for offenses against employees; increasing training of employees on safety and preventing mail theft; and more.
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