DALLAS (WBAP/KLIF News ) – Letter carriers across North Texas will rally at the Main Post Office in Dallas Thursday afternoon as part of a nationwide movement to highlight an ongoing crime wave against United States Postal Workers.
Recent stats show assaults and robberies against them began spiking last year.
U.S. Postal Inspector Sean Smith said stealing from a letter carrier, mail box or facility are federal crimes that come with harsh sentences.
“There’s a always a maximum penalty on them. It can range anywhere from a maximum of five years to up to 25 years in some instances,” he said.
One of the service’s first steps to address the issue was to install 10,000 high-security blue collections boxes nationwide, while monitoring the results.
“In specific locations where blue boxes are a repeated crime target and/or mail density is very low…collection boxes may have to be removed entirely when access is not meaningful diminished due to nearby access points,” said Smith.
USPS also updated letter carrier keys with electronic locks, among other measures.
In 2023, more than 600 people were arrested for postal crimes according to USPS data.
The rally in Dallas starts at 401 Tom Landry Freeway at 4 p.m.
There’s also a rally in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on February 29th and in Jacksonville, Florida on March 3.
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