Washington, DC – Ahead of the busy holiday season, United States Representatives Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) and Young Kim (CA-40) reintroduced bipartisan legislation to address the nationwide increase in mail theft. The Maximizing Agency Integration on Letter (MAIL) Theft Act would crack down on thieves who steal delivered packages from homes by requiring cross-agency coordination on the issue of mail theft and raising it as a priority for federal law enforcement.
While the United States Postal Service (USPS) and US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) have increased enforcement and arrests, these crimes are spread out across local communities where police are already stretched thin. According to USPS and USPIS, as of last year, arrests for robbing letter carriers were up 73 percent. Between 2019 and 2022, letter carrier robberies increased sixfold, and high-volume mailbox theft increased 87 percent. Just last month, a housing complex in San Jose was the target of mass mail theft, forcing residents to resort to using P.O. boxes or retrieving mail promptly.
The MAIL Theft Act requires federal agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), to work with state and local law enforcement to better protect our communities from postal theft and develop a coordinated federal approach to mail theft which is targeting neighborhoods nationwide.
“Too many delivered packages are being stolen from homes,” said Rep. Panetta. “The MAIL Theft Act will help investigate and solve these types of crimes by ensuring that federal agencies are backing up our local law enforcement with a coordinated federal response. As more and more people rely on mail order delivery, Congress must play its part to ensure that delivered packages are protected.”
“During the holiday season, families should be focused on time together — not stolen checks and missing packages,” said Rep. Kim. “Rising mail theft is hurting communities and putting postal workers at risk. The MAIL Theft Act strengthens coordination across all levels of law enforcement so we can stop these crimes, protect workers, and restore peace of mind for families in California. I’m proud to work alongside Rep. Panetta to help introduce this commonsense legislation, just in time for the holidays.”
Last March, Rep. Panetta wrote to Postmaster Louis Dejoy and USPIS Chief Inspector Gary Barksdale to request assistance in resolving egregious mail theft taking place in California’s 19th Congressional District. Rep. Panetta called on postal leaders to prioritize mail theft deterrence in South San Jose, including the approval of individual curbside mailboxes, new physical security standards for cluster box units, and clarity on a nationwide strategy to address this epidemic. Rep. Panetta is also a cosponsor of the bipartisan Protect Our Letter Carriers Act which would appoint an assistant U.S. attorney to prosecute postal crime, amend sentencing guidelines related to the assault of a postal employee, and replace old mail collection boxes with high-security models.
