HOUSTON – Mail theft has become so rampant in Houston. The United States Postal Inspection Service has created a Houston mail theft jump team to investigate and try to stop the theft of mail and robberies of mail carriers. Our KPRC 2 Investigates team first exposed this problem back in May and has new numbers on the troubling crime.
It’s troubling because it is no longer safe to mail a check. In May, we showed you how thieves were robbing mail carriers to get their arrow keys that will open hundreds of mailboxes. The latest numbers we found show the crime is not slowing and Houston is ground zero.
Here are just a few of the mail theft issues KPRC 2 has reported on this year
- Caught on camera: Mailbox thieves repeatedly hit business park in NW Harris County
- Caught on Camera: Mail carrier robbed at gunpoint in East Harris County
Thieves want the mail but they’re also after arrow keys that can open all of the mailboxes in an entire zip code.
“Texas is by far the worst state,” said Frank Albergo, U.S. Postal Police Union President.
Albergo lives in New York, but says Texas is a hotbed when it comes to mail theft and robberies of mail carriers.
“Mail theft is at epidemic proportions. It’s out of control,” said Albergo.
Mail carrier robberies so far in 2022
Our KPRC 2 Investigates team obtained the latest numbers we obtained from the United States Postal Inspection Service.
- In 2022, so far 250 mail carriers have been robbed.
- 56 of those robberies (22%) were in Texas.
- Of those, 35 were in the Greater Houston area.
“In Houston, there are neighborhoods where carriers won’t deliver the mail. They actually have requested postal police escorts and of course, we can’t escort them. So the mail doesn’t get delivered,” said Albergo.
Since last August, postal police all across the country have been confined to patrolling only on postal property, like at the post office. Here’s a look at the zip codes where mail carriers have been robbed in our area.
You can see thieves have hit everywhere.
- 4 robberies in 77004, the Museum District which also includes the area around Texas Southern University.
- 4 more in 77042 on Houston’s west side near the Beltway.
In these cases, thieves steal an arrow key so they can steal all of the mail from that zip code.
No one from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service would talk with us on camera about this problem or about why postal police are no longer allowed to patrol. The House Committee on Oversight and Reform is holding a hearing this week on these issues. We will follow up and let you know what happens.
Related: Why isn’t the post office held responsible for stolen mail?
