NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — 7 On Your Side Investigates has been tracking an increase in crimes against carriers and in stolen mailbox keys.
Eyewitness News mapped the crimes. More than 100 physical assaults in Queens over the past five years, 42 robberies in Manhattan, and 11 burglaries in Brooklyn.
“They’re robbing letter carriers, they’re sticking a gun in a letter carrier’s face and they’re demanding arrow keys,” said Frank Albergo, a postal police officer who’s the president of the National Postal Police Union.
“Right now mail is being stolen, letter carriers are being attacked, identities are stolen, bank accounts drained and the Postal Service has a police force that it refuses to use,” Albergo said. “Postal police are basically on the sideline watching this debacle unfold.”
There are 450 postal police officers across the country. They’re armed and uniformed officers. Back in 2020, the Postmaster General restricted them to protect postal property, not to hit the streets and investigate crimes outside of post office facilities.
