A string of armed robberies targeting U.S. Postal Service mail carriers in broad daylight has workers calling for more protection.
Trade union representatives and others have been bringing attention to the growing threat faced by local USPS mail carriers. Robbers have been targeting postal carriers across North Texas, with three robberies occurring in Dallas between December 28 and January 29, as previously covered by The Dallas Express. Letter carriers have also recently been targeted on their routes in Fort Worth and Arlington.
“This has caused a great fear among the letter carriers, not only in Dallas but everywhere,” said Kim Lewis, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) 132nd Branch, per the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We’re needing your help. Please take this matter seriously, because we do have carriers who have to do their jobs.”
As previously reported by DX, the NALC — a union representing mail carriers — organized a rally held in Dallas on February 22 to bring attention to at least seven robberies targeting carriers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since late December.
“[Hashtag] EnoughIsEnough! The intolerable violence against letter carriers must stop, and those responsible for these assaults must be held accountable,” posted the Letter Carriers, NALC’s account, on X.
More rallies calling for additional protection for letter carriers will take place in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on February 29 and Jacksonville, Florida, on March 3.
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) has offered rewards of up to $150,000 for information on any of the recent robberies.
Robbing or assaulting a mail carrier is punishable by federal prison, with sentences of up to five and 10 years, respectively.
Nonetheless, Brian Renfroe, the NALC’s national president, reported that violent criminals had targeted around 2,000 mail carriers across the U.S. since 2020, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Just 14% of these cases ended in successful arrest and prosecution of perpetrators.
“I’m furious that our members, the very people who serve as the eyes and ears of their communities, are the ones being targeted and harmed by these violent criminals,” said Renfroe.
“What [the low success rate in these cases] says to me, and more importantly, what that says to people that may commit these crimes against that member, is right now there’s a very high probability they get away [with] it,” he added.
While postal police officers (PPOs) — employed within the USPIS — protect federal mail and those who deliver it, Frank Albergo, the national president of the Postal Police Officers Association (PPOA), told CBS News Texas that considerable cuts had been made to their routes over the past few years, resulting in an 800% increase in crime between 2019 and 2023.
As previously reported in The Dallas Express, working conditions for mail carriers in Dallas came to attention last summer as 36-year veteran Eugene Gates, 66, collapsed and died during a heat wave while on his route in Lakewood.
“My husband was trying to complete his assignment. That was his job… and the heat got to him,” Eugene’s wife Carla Gates told WFAA. “No one should have been outside working like that when the heat index is that high. No one. Deliver the mail earlier, or later, or wait.”
Robberies have gone up by 2.5% year over year in Dallas, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
The Dallas Police Department has been dealing with a significant staffing shortage, fielding just 3,000 officers and wielding comparatively few taxpayer dollars. City officials recently voted in a $654 million budget for DPD, which is far less than the spending seen in other high-crime cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City. As such, there is little hope of DPD fulfilling the recommendation made in a City report of having around 4,000 officers.
As a result of these challenges, Downtown Dallas is growing into a hot spot for crime. Studies conducted by the Metroplex Civic & Business Association show that this is especially true of motor vehicle thefts, assaults, and drug offenses, which occur more often than in the downtown area of Fort Worth, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers.
The Dallas Express reached out to the NALC’s 132nd Branch and DPD but did not receive a response by press time.
