Editor:
When I went to pick up the mail at the post office this afternoon I was dismayed to see that the outside post box had once again been pried open and mail stolen. The thieves went one step further this time, however – they also stole the closed circuit TV camera from inside the lobby where all of the post boxes are.
This has to be at least the fourth time, maybe even the fifth, in the past two or three weeks that the outside drop box has been pried open and yet there have been no public warnings about these thefts from Canada Post, not even a posted warning about after hours drops right on the box.
I don’t know why they don’t simply remove the drop box from outside of the post office – mail is getting stolen and people are not being notified. The mail is picked up from that box at 4 p.m., but the post office doesn’t close until 5 p.m.
If you are going to drop off mail, the safest thing to do is to take your mail directly inside the building and hand it to a postal employee; that way it’s not sitting outside and vulnerable after hours. Yes, this may be a small inconvenience, but wouldn’t you rather that your mail be safe instead of sitting outside waiting to be snatched by thieves?
As a further precaution, I would like to recommend to everyone that they make that quick trip to their community mailboxes every afternoon or early evening, depending on when your neighbourhood mail is delivered, and ensure that your delivery box is empty, giving thieves nothing to steal. I also recommend that whenever possible, you do not use the drop box at your community stop to send mail if your postal worker has already cleaned it out for the day – again, don’t give the thieves anything to steal.
If you see someone suspicious hanging around your community mailbox, note their appearance, jot down their car’s plate number if they’re driving, and report it to the police. The only way to stop these thieves is to take away their opportunity, let them know you’re paying attention to what’s going on in your neighbourhood. They don’t like being noticed.
Tami Quiring, Aldergrove
