Rallies have been planned in three cities — including Dallas — on Thursday to protest the targeting of mail carriers by robbers.
Fed up and concerned for their safety, U.S. mail carriers will take to the streets to bring attention to the more than 800% increase in robbery and theft incidents seen between 2019 and 2023. Their union, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), organized rallies in Dallas, Oklahoma City, and Jacksonville on February 22 due to the situation reaching alarming heights in these cities in particular.
“Sometimes I’m scared for my life because people are trying to rob you,” said Vania Garcia, a seasoned mail carrier who was assaulted by a would-be motor vehicle thief while on her route last fall, according to CBS News Texas.
Robbers have targeted eight mail carriers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area since late December. As previously covered in The Dallas Express, rewards of up to $150,000 were offered by the U.S. Postal Service for information. Yet very few perpetrators of mail theft end up arrested and convicted, and the existing penalties of hefty fines and up to 10 years in federal prison have evidently not acted as a sufficient deterrent.
“Enough is enough,” read a post from NALC announcing the local rally scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at the Dallas Main Post Office at 401 Tom Landry Fwy.
Frank Albergo, national president of the Postal Police Officers Association (PPOA), blamed in part the cuts made to postal police officers’ routes over the past few years for the uptick in crime.
“Every day you have another carrier who has a gun stuck in their face, you have mail being stolen, you have bank account being drained, it’s a major problem, and the inspection service has a postal police force which it refuses to use,” said Albergo, according to CBS.
PPOA’s website notes that the USPS Inspector General issued an audit report in September 2023, citing dismal efforts to combat postal crime due to staffing shortfalls and more. Legislation aimed at addressing these issues — HR 3005, known as the Postal Police Reform Act of 2023, as well as a Senate companion bill — has been introduced to Congress.
Last May, USPS rolled out an initiative to protect its employees and ensure the safekeeping of mail. It aims to deploy new high-security blue collection boxes in high-risk areas and switch from arrow keys to electric locks. Arrow keys are able to open collection boxes in apartment complexes, post offices, and more.
An arrow key was recently taken from mail carrier Omar Arias at gunpoint while on his route.
“He told me with a gun at my chest, ‘give me the key,’ so I had to give it to them,” Arias told CBS.
In Dallas, reports of property theft have risen considerably, with a 5.5% uptick logged between 2022 and 2023, thanks in large part to skyrocketing rates of motor vehicle theft. So far this year a total of 8,193 had occurred as of February 21, according to the City’s crime analytics dashboard.
Downtown Dallas has seen marked increases in auto theft since the start of the year, as reported by The Dallas Express. When compared to Fort Worth’s city center, which is patrolled by a dedicated police unit and private security officers, considerably more crime of all types occurs there.
The Dallas Police Department has struggled to curb crime due to an ongoing officer shortage. Only around 3,000 officers are currently fielded even though a City analysis recommended 4,000 to properly ensure public safety. City officials have budgeted only $654 million for DPD this fiscal year, opting to spend considerably less than other high-crime jurisdictions, including New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
