DAYTON, Ohio — A rash of local mail thefts coincides with a reported 17-fold nationwide increase in checks stolen from the U.S. mail being posted for sale online. And officials representing postal service police say they are hamstrung in arresting perpetrators, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.
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Frank Albergo, national president of the postal police officers association, said mail theft arrests dropped from more than 2,000 in fiscal year 2019 to a projected 1,200 in fiscal year 2022 after a federal policy restricted their arrest powers in 2020.
The U.S. Postal Service has said it is safe to use blue mailboxes to send mail during the day during operating hours. Albergo said he would be reluctant to do so because of the ongoing issues nationwide.
“It’s a disaster, it really is,” Albergo said.
Officials in the Dayton region are investigating a rash of mail-related crime. Items were stolen from at least seven different post office mailboxes in Beavercreek, Dayton, Kettering and the Centerville/Washington Twp. area.
