By Olivia Graffeo | olivia@queensledger.com
Mail theft in Queens has been continually on the rise as criminals evolve their tactics to combat enhancements to security. A federal audit by the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General in January showed that the Queens branch of the Postal Service has been grossly mismanaged and negligent in fighting this kind of thievery. Conducted at the urging of Congresswoman Grace Meng, the audit finally occurred after two years of requests.
According to Meng, despite small changes made to reduce mail theft, rates of the crime have only risen. Residents of Queens have complained of the loss of many important pieces of mail after sending them: checks, medication, personal documents, and more.
“The increase in mail theft continues to impact too many residents in Queens and that is unacceptable. I’ve sent several letters to the Postal Service since 2022 urging them to reduce the high rate of stolen mail and improve security for relay boxes,” Meng said. “So, last October, I wrote to the Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General asking for an investigation into the problem and they agreed to conduct one. The probe was launched in January, and the findings were just released in late May. This is the first time that such an audit into mail theft in Queens has ever been conducted.”
Along with the probe’s findings exhibiting the need for changes, the Office of the Inspector General — which Meng described as “the Postal Service’s watchdog” — provided thorough recommendations for the Queens Postal Service to enact in order to reduce mail-related crime. The Office is an independent entity within the U.S. Postal Service, so there was not a guarantee that the Postal Service would agree to all the changes suggested.
Thankfully, the Postal Service confirmed this month that they will be taking the recommendations from the Inspector General and implementing them throughout Queens post offices. Meng’s work to fix the issues within the borough’s mail services over years has resulted in serious federal action, hopefully reducing mail crime in Queens.
“I demanded that the recommendations provided in the report be implemented, and I’m pleased the Postal Service has agreed to do so. The audit revealed that the Postal Service has clearly not been doing enough to address mail theft, especially with mail stolen from green relay boxes, and that is why it is crucial to implement the recommendations. Hopefully, the Postal Service can better combat the problem once these recommendations are enacted. Everybody in our borough is entitled to safely send and receive their mail. I will continue to keep up the pressure on postal officials, and make sure that the recommendations are implemented. Ultimately, we want this spike in mail theft to end,” Meng said.
