More community mailboxes in the Merritt area have been robbed, continuing the recent rash of thefts experienced this spring.
The latest robberies saw 30 mailboxes broken into on May 26 and May 28 around the Collettville and in the Sunshine Valley areas of town.
Those mailboxes serve 600 residences, Merritt post office shop steward Lana McKnight told the Herald.
RCMP Const. Tracy Dunsmore said it’s difficult to pinpoint what type of mail, or how much, has been taken because people don’t necessarily know exactly what mail they were expecting.
Thieves will typically look for mail containing money or personal information.
McKnight said the post office has heard from three people who have expressed concerns about identity theft, saying they’ve noticed charges on their credit cards for items they didn’t buy.
She also said the post office has received many complaints from people saying they are missing parcels, cheques and bills over the last few months.
“Every month it seems that someone is coming through town and doing this,” Dunsmore said.
Kamloops area Canadian Union of Postal Workers president Laura Plummer said the problem seems worse than usual.
She also said there’s little that Canada Post can do and believes people will be driven away from having their mail delivered out of fear it isn’t safe.
Plummer said the community mailboxes are not fool proof.
“Anybody with a screwdriver can pop open an individual compartment,” Plummer said.
Dunsmore said Canada Post has brought in some new mailboxes to replace the ones broken into, but not all have been replaced.
McKnight said some new mailboxes brought in with extra safety measures were still broken into.
Police currently have no suspects in relation to mail thefts in Merritt.
In March, about 14 mailboxes in the Lower Nicola area were reported to have been broken into.
In April, another six mailboxes were broken into in the Lower Nicola area, impacting some 270 homes.
Dunsmore said that after April’s spree, police didn’t receive any more word of mail theft until these incidents in May.
The Lower Nicola area has been a rather consistent source of mail theft.
“Sunshine Valley’s been hit several times probably because it’s so rural,” Dunsmore said.
The lack of nearby houses and street light are contributing factors that make rural areas an easy target.
Dunsmore said it’s important that people remember to check their mail diligently in order to help prevent mail theft.
“Don’t wait three days before you check your mail, try and check it as soon as you can,” Dunsmore said, noting police suspect most of the thefts take place overnight.
“Because it’s been an issue here for three months, any mailbox in town is a target,” Dunsmore said.
Follow up questions to Canada Post were not answered by press deadline.
