Dozens of High-Security Collection Boxes Deployed Across the Birmingham Area
In response to the increasing rates of mail thefts and attacks on postal employees in various parts of the country, the U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service have begun launching the Project Safe Delivery. As a part of this initiative, dozens of high-security collection boxes have been installed and made operational in the Birmingham area.
Project Safe Delivery: A Step to Ensuring Postal Security
Project Safe Delivery, which commenced in May 2023, aims to ensure the safety of postal employees and secure mail packages across the country. The initiative has spiked the number of arrests for letter carrier robberies by a staggering 73% in fiscal year 2024 compared to the last fiscal year. Concurrently, the reported robberies of mail carriers have fallen by 19%, and complaints regarding mail theft incidents have also reduced by 34%.
Besides the high-security blue collection boxes, electronic locking mechanisms have also been deployed across all 50 states. All in all, USPS has placed 15,000 hardened blue boxes and 28,000 electronic locking mechanisms strategically in high postal crime areas. They plan to install another 8,500 new blue boxes soon. The high-security blue collection boxes feature a thin, secure slit for mail deposit, as opposed to the more vulnerable pull-down opening in the previous versions.
Postal Security Upgrades in Birmingham
In the Alabama-Mississippi District alone, USPS has installed 211 high-security collection boxes since April of 2023. 78 of these boxes were deployed in Birmingham area, and an additional 15 boxes have been planned for the district. 10 out of these 15 are slated for the Birmingham area.
The USPS is not stopping at installing new collection boxes. Their electronic locking mechanisms are replacing old-fashioned arrow locks, forming a sort of a two-factor authentication. Such advanced security features eliminate the need for keys, thereby eliminating the biggest incentive for thieves who tend to target postal carriers for their keys.
These upgrades have significantly improved Birmingham’s situation and diminished postal crimes. However, USPS still urges citizens to follow best practices. These include not leaving mail in personal mailboxes overnight and not using collection boxes after operational hours.
Rewards Increased for Information on Postal Crimes
Additionally, USPS has increased the monetary reward for actionable information on postal crimes. From a previous reward of $50,000, it is now offering rewards up to $150,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of individuals involved in postal crimes. The reporting can be done via a phone call to the USPS number 877-876-2455 or by submission on the USPIS website.
Overall, USPS’s Project Safe Delivery seems to be taking strides in the right direction towards curbing postal thefts and ensuring the safety of its employees. High-security collection boxes and the electronic locking mechanisms, it seems, stand as testaments to this commitment.
