U.S. Postal Service rolling out new high-security bins, changing arrow keys with digital locks

After a spike in robberies of mail carriers nationwide, the U.S. Postal Service introduced Friday that it’s rolling out high-security blue assortment bins and changing arrow keys with digital locks.

Previously, the arrow keys carried by mail carriers have been in a position to open the previous mannequin of blue assortment bins, permitting thieves to rifle via mail for checks and different valuables.

“We’re doubling down on our efforts to protect our Postal employees and the security of the mail. We are hardening targets – both physical and digital – to make them less desirable to thieves and working with our law enforcement partners to bring perpetrators to justice,” U.S. Postal Inspection Service Chief Gary Barksdale stated.

For high-risk areas, 12,000 blue bins, more durable than earlier than, are being deployed all through the following fiscal 12 months. In order to scale back the motivation of stealing keys off of postal staff, 49,000 locks beforehand opened by arrow keys will probably be changed with new digital locks.

In fiscal 12 months 2022, 412 letter carriers have been robbed on the job; there have been 305 such incidents within the first half of fiscal 12 months 2023 alone. In addition, there have been 38,500 cases of high-volume mail theft in fiscal 12 months 2022, and 25,000 cases within the first half of fiscal 12 months 2023.

Incidents in fiscal 12 months 2023 embody however are under no circumstances restricted to the Dec. 9, 2022, of mail service Aundre Cross in Milwaukee, the slashing of one other postal employee with a machete in Lowell, Massachusetts, in March, and the April 26 theft at gunpoint of a service in Olney, Maryland within the D.C. suburbs.