Mail theft crime wave felt on the Central Coast while national Postal Police force remains benched

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The problem of mail theft continues to rise at an alarming rate, with Central Coast residents experiencing a surge in thefts and resulting fraudulent activity.

Locals of the central coast have reported important pieces of mail having been stolen with no signs of forced entry or vandalism, and secure shared mailboxes being found wide open and empty.

Her mailbox open and her book of bank checks gone—that is how Orcutt resident Kelly Ayers found her condo’s shared mailbox back in January.

“In this neighborhood, all our mailboxes were open. So it wasn't just mine, it was all the 500 block’s. They probably just drove right down here, open them, raided them,” says Ayers.

And in Nipomo, Evelyn Lavergne has had her mailbox broken into and one time even chained and ripped from the ground.

“My daughter calls me and said, Mom, you did it again. You left the mailbox door open. I said, No, I didn't. I definitely shut it. So she was perturbed about it,” says Lavergne.

These Central Coast women are not alone.

Since the pandemic, mail theft has increased at an alarming rate.

Between 2019 and 2022, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service has reported a 87 percent increase in high-volume theft from mailboxes.

So who protects our mail?

“The Postal Inspection Service employs postal police officers, which are akin to uniformed cops and postal inspectors who are essentially criminal investigators. Think of them as detectives,” says Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Association.

Albergo says its no coincidence that mail theft has risen since the pandemic.

“In 2020, the Postal Service decided that postal police officers should no longer protect the mail and should no longer protect postal workers through delivery,” says Albergo.

According to the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, in August of 2020, Postmaster General Louis Dejoy issued a memo directing postal police to only guard postal service facilities, removing them from their street patrols and other previous jurisdictions.

The postal police are a fully equipped arm of law enforcement who report to the postal inspection service. They’re trained to protect postal facilities, mail carriers, and mail recipients--the public.

A recent report by the Government Accountability Office shows robberies of mail carriers have more than doubled since the pandemic.

“Why isn't the Postal Service utilizing postal police to stop this mail theft epidemic? They were already being paid. Use them,” says Albergo.

Law enforcement say these perpetrators are targeting master keys also known as arrow keys

“The criminals get that arrow key and once they have the arrow key, they have access to all the mail in every blue collection box and every apartment panel in every cluster box in every relay box,” says Albergo.

“This time when it was broken into, it wasn't vandalized,” says Ayers.

Ayers believes whoever got into her mailbox had an arrow key.

In February, Santa Maria police confirmed at least 3 cases of mail theft but reported no arrow keys missing. Santa Maria police don’t believe those thefts are connected to Ayers’ theft in Orcutt.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office does not have any recent reports of arrow keys being stolen and any reports of mail theft are forwarded to the postal inspector.

The U.S. Postal Service recommends promptly removing mail from your mailbox after delivery, and to have your local post office hold your mail if you are on vacation.

Additionally, a roll-out of electronic locks to replace arrow locks is currently underway in large metropolitan areas, as well as an increase of accountability reviews in high-crime areas.

The Trump administration has announced improvement plans for the United States Postal Service in the coming weeks and months.

The 2020 memo has been subject of a long-running legal battle.

Court documents show the Postal Service has rescinded the memo, but the Postal Police union argues there's still a lack of clarity for its officers on what they can do to protect mail carriers.

Mr. Albergo recommends to write your congressperson and advocate for the postal police force.