Progress Made in Fighting Mail Theft; Vigilance Needed

Pictured from left to right: Captain Mike Judge (Menifee Police), Postmaster General Shane Seitz (Sun City), and Jay Jeffs (owner of Jayco Industries)

A rising issue among the citizens of Menifee and surrounding cities is mail theft. A town hall meeting on the subject Monday was led by City Councilman Greg August with a panel including Menifee Police Chief Mike Judge, Sun City Postmaster Shane Seitz, and Jay Jeffs, owner of Jayco Industries, which makes various types of mailboxes.

The meeting took place in a packed room full of concerned citizens at the Kay Ceniceros Senior Center.

"I'm very proud of everybody who came to take their time out, to discuss what's becoming a growing problem here in the city of Menifee," August (pictured left) said, kicking off the town hall.

The councilman brought with him a wealth of information, including statistics on mail theft and mail box vandalism within the United States. He cited tidbits of the information, including the fact that law enforcement agencies predict mail theft will double within in the next decade.

Representing the law enforcement angle, Captain Judge took the stage and shared information that left some of those in attendance in shock.

One fact that disturbed some was that fact that not only has mail been stolen, but also the cluster boxes in some cases had been stolen and sold for scrap metal at recycling centers for $9. Authorities have spent time to visit local recycling centers and have found cluster boxes in the recycle yards before. Fortunately, with their last check, he said, none were found.

Judge (pictured right) warned those in the audience that mail theft can often be seasonal as well. During holidays or at the beginning of a month, items of value such as money, checks, and other valuables are often sent in the mail and this can be the peak times of mail theft.

While some neighborhoods have set up crime watches, many of the patrols last only until 9 p.m. and the most common hours for mail theft occur between midnight and 5 a.m.

"Don't put mail in the box overnight," Judge said. "Wait until the morning to drop off your mail."

He then relayed a conversation he had with his own wife about doing so, citing the fact that the post office doesn't have anyone picking up mail overnight and this leaves the mail vulnerable to thieves.

This is why Judge is asking for citizens to be more vigilant -- not by physically approaching a possible suspect, but by being the eyes and ears for authorities and taking notice of people who are out of place in the neighborhood.

The Menifee Police Department has had some success recently, Judge said. While analyzing crime trends within Menifee, authorities were able to arrest four suspects of mail theft and mail theft dropped 65 percent in November, compared to the month of October. It could not be confirmed if police had any current leads.

"Are we 100 percent done with mail theft? No. Have we cured all mail theft? No," Judge told the crowd. "Are we making a dent? Absolutely."

Postmaster Seitz (pictured left), added that he purchased "Inspection Service Warning" stickers and will be placing them on centralized box units in Menifee as a small theft deterrent.

He then echoed the words of Judge by asking citizens to be alert. If people hear a strange noise or notice someone around the mailboxes that shouldn't be there, don't be afraid to write a description or license plate number down, then call it in to the police, he said.

"I will attempt to repair the broken and vandalized mailboxes, as much as possible, without cost to you the citizens," Seitz said, before receiving applause from the audience. "I don't have a maintenance service professional at my station, but we do have access to one. We do have the ability to put work orders in and it is our goal to repair the boxes so that there is no cost to the customer. Does it solve the problem? No, but it's a penny not spent by the citizens."

He went on to say that if repairs could not be made by the post office, they would work with the affected residents in facilitating the replacement of the a new box, placement and installation. This means possibly placing the box in a more visible area of a neighborhood, preferably in a more lighted area as well.

Unfortunately for many, the post office is only able to replace boxes installed by the post office. In the city of Menifee, this is a small percentage, because most mail box placements were done by the developers of the housing tracts.

"I'm not opposed to moving boxes," Seitz told the crowd. "I can even facilitate that. It would be on a case by case basis and I have no problem with that."

Another suggestion that Seitz agreed with stemmed from former Postmaster General Robert O'Donnell. The suggestion was to set up an advisory committee between the police, the post office, and citizens.

"Certainly if you don't have any type of locking box, that's just like asking the burglar to come to your home," Jeffs told the crowd. He later suggested that those who have individual boxes on their own property purchase an individual locking mailbox that would be more secure.

During a question and answer portion of the town hall, the prospect about having cameras installed to monitor community mailboxes was brought up. Unfortunately, due to limited budgets, the only mailboxes with possible video surveillance are the blue drop box locations.

Many of those in the audience left the town hall with mixed emotions. While mail theft is still a concern, some of the comments from Judge and Seitz, let them know that they are not forgotten and that authorities are attempting to reduce mail theft in the city of Menifee.