Local letter carriers for the United States Postal Service (USPS) are planning a demonstration at Fountain Square to demand more action to protect mail carriers from on-the-job violence.
In an Aug. 30 press release, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) Branch 43, the union for Cincinnati-area USPS workers, said letter carrier attacks are on the rise locally.
“Since January of 2022, there have been 17 assaults or robberies of Branch 43 members,” said Ted Thompson, president of NALC Branch 43. “As they risk their health each day, letter carriers have become increasingly angry and frustrated by the accelerating number of assaults and armed robberies targeting them in an attempt to gain access to the public’s mail, which they safeguard.”
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More reports of mail carriers being robbed at gunpoint have started to pop up recently. In January 2022, a mail carrier was reportedly held at gunpoint in his van in Norwood; the thief was after the carrier’s collection box keys. In September 2022, another mail carrier was robbed at gunpoint, this time in Over-the-Rhine. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service offered up a $50,000 reward for information on the suspect.
“These crimes need to stop now,” Thompson said. “The Postal Service needs to protect us and prosecutors need to send a clear message through their actions by aggressively pursuing harsh federal penalties to these criminals and letting the public and letter carriers know these attacks will not be tolerated.”
A USPS spokesperson told CityBeat the department launched a new program to protect mail carriers earlier this year.
“The Postal Service and Postal Inspection Service have seen an increase in robberies of letter carriers and mail theft, as crime has risen across the country,” said USPS spokesperson Naddia Dhalai. “This is why Project Safe Delivery was launched on May 12, 2023, to keep our letter carriers and the mail safe from criminals. We look forward to sharing our progress on Protect Safe Delivery with the American people soon.”
One of the Project Safe Delivery measures includes replacing tens of thousands of arrow locks on blue collection boxes with electronic locks.
“There has been an increase in letter carrier robberies nationwide where criminals are targeting letter carriers for their arrow and modified arrow lock (MAL) keys,” USPS said in a March press release. “To make arrow keys less valuable for criminals, the Postal Service will replace 49,000 antiquated arrow locks with electronic locks. New locks have been installed in select cities with installation to occur in additional major metropolitan areas soon. The Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service are also increasing Arrow Key accountability reviews in select high Postal crime areas.”
Branch 43 will hold a rally called “Enough is Enough,” at 6 p.m. on Aug. 30 at Fountain Square Plaza on Vine Street. Organizers said the rally is open to all members of the public.
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This article appears in Aug 23 – Sep 5, 2023.
