Durbin calls for U.S. Postal Service to act as attacks on carriers increase
CHICAGO (CBS) – U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin delivered a message loud and clear to the U.S. Post Office on Monday: something must be done about the alarming trend of attacks on letter carriers.
The crimes don't just harm the postal workers, but everyone on their routes. CBS 2's Marie Saavedra looked into three solutions that could help.
It's a problem CBS 2 has been reporting on for some time. Thieves want those postal master keys, so they can get their hands on your mail, specifically checks, and the letter carriers who walk their routes alone are caught in the middle.
"Across the country, letter carriers are going about their duties with growing targets on their backs," Durbin said.
Surrounded by postal union leaders in Chicago, Durbin outlined a serious and growing problem nationwide. In 2018, armed robbers hit 36 letter carriers, but by 2021, that number had jumped to 154.
The main target of the thieves are the master or arrow keys. Then the crooks can open condo doors, or mailboxes and take what they like, often checks. They then alter the name and the amount and get big bucks.
The U.S. Postal Inspection Service sometimes releases wanted posters, but Durbin also wants alerts given to letter carriers, something that he said happened more than a decade ago but has since been discontinued.
Durbin's second solution is to send the thieves to prison for the 10-25 years allowed by law.
"We need good prosecution from the Department of Justice," he said. "Bringing some of these people to justice, and making a point of it publicly if going to help these letter carriers."
Finally, Durbin wants the Postal Service to come up with a better option than those master keys so coveted by criminals.
"We have to evaluate new technology," he said. "These old arrow keys may have worked for decades but they don't work now. There's not enough protection built into them."
CBS 2 reached out to the Postal Service about Durbin's claims and a spokesperson hinted at security changes coming this spring.
However, they did not address why the current postmaster ended the alerts for postal employees, nor what can be done about the master key mess.
