Mail theft is becoming a bigger problem in Surrey and other South Fraser communities.
Community mail boxes are being broken into, or in some cases, removed entirely. People whose boxes are damaged or destroyed then have to go to mail distribution centres to pick up their mail. Sometimes this lasts for weeks.
In addition to ignoring what is clearly a growing problem, Canada Post and the federal government want to make it worse. The federal government plans to eliminate all home delivery of mail over the next few years, ensuring that everyone will now have an equal opportunity to have their mail stolen.
The newer community mailboxes were supposed to be more theft-resistant. That didn’t last long. Several weeks ago, a family member’s community mailbox, one of three placed together on a rural street, was taken right off its stand.
Last week, Surrey RCMP arrested a young woman near a convenience store in South Surrey. Inside her vehicle was 150 pieces of mail, numerous cellphones and “evidence of other criminal activities relating to credit cards and bank cards,” according to Surrey RCMP Cpl. Bert Paquet.
Police suggested that the contents of her vehicle indicate an entire community mailbox was emptied – either at the scene, or as a result of the entire box being stolen.
Mail was scattered down my own street last weekend. Some of it was notices from Canada Post about parcels being held at the nearest community post office and dated the previous day.
The mail was returned to those whom it was intended for, but on Monday police were talking to a man who has been wandering up and down the street virtually every day last week. He may be innocent, but there is no shortage of people cruising by trying to clean out mailboxes.
What are the solutions? Canada Post is hopeless. While individual employees are helpful enough, they are restricted by poor communication with customers and blind obedience to rules cast in stone in Ottawa.
It is obvious that the mail theft issue is more significant here than in other parts of Canada, but you’d never know it if you paid attention to Canada Post’s messaging. It seems focused on delivering parcels ordered over the Internet.
Local governments could raise a fuss, as they did when community mail boxes were first introduced. But they seem to have given up trying to ensure residents get the mail service they pay for in their taxes.
While some bills and other mail can come by e-mail, the target of many thieves seems to be credit and debit cards, and other mail with valuable personal information. This allows thieves to steal identity and do a host of damage to innocent people.
The various arms of the federal government are no more helpful. A friend is waiting right now for an important piece of mail from the citizenship office. Notices about citizenship tests and ceremonies are sent via regular mail and are frequently not delivered. Then the poor applicants have to go back to the bottom of the list. Registered mail doesn’t seem to have even entered the consciousness of these government departments whose mail is frequently life-altering for many.
It seems that all people can do is be vigilant. Have a good idea what time the mail is delivered, and arrange to get it right away. If that isn’t possible, co-operate with a neighbour so that someone can pick it up quickly. Report any suspicious activity near community mail boxes as well.
Otherwise, you may end up being the next in a long list of mail theft victims.
Frank Bucholtz is the editor of The Langley Times. He writes weekly for The Leader.