What's Up Now: RCMP Alert

Date: January 28, 2019Share

St. Albert RCMP Investigate Mailbox Break-Ins

Between December 24, 2018 and January 28, 2019, St. Albert RCMP have received 9 reports of break ins to community mailboxes. In some of the cases, the locks of the mailboxes have been broken, while other cases have found the doors hanging open on the “super” mailboxes. It is unknown at present how much, if any, mail is missing, and St. Albert RCMP are appealing to the public for information on these break-ins.

Although there may be more insecure mailboxes that have not been reported to police, the following areas have been the victim of these crimes:

• Norwood Close – Reported on December 27th.
• Carnegie Drive – reported on January 18th.
• Chevigny Street – reported on January 19th.
• Kingswood Blvd – reported on January 25th. – 2 different mailboxes were broken into on this same Boulevard and reported separately on this date.
• Sir Winston Churchill Avenue – reported January 25th.
• Keating Point – reported January 25th.
• Akinsdale Gardens – reported January 25th.
• Kenilworth Crescent – reported January 27th.

The following tips can help prevent mail theft:

1. Don’t send cash - Never send cash or gift cards in the mail, as they are next to impossible to reclaim and are particularly sought after by criminals.
2. Never leave mail overnight - Make a daily routine out of collecting your mail — even if you aren’t necessarily expecting something. The more time you leave your mailbox full, the longer a criminal has to snatch it.
3. Keep junk mail at bay - Pre-approved credit card applications are often used for identity theft. Go through your junk mail daily and shred any pre-approved credit card applications that you are not interested in.
4. Deposit mail close to the scheduled pickup time posted on the mailbox. – This leaves less time for mail to go missing before a Canada Post employee can pick it up.
5. Items containing sensitive/financial or business information, as well as large quantities of mail should be deposited at a local post office. This reduces the amount of mail that can be stolen from the Community Mailboxes.
6. If you receive mail that's not yours, please don't leave it in an unprotected area. If the mail has been delivered incorrectly, please write, "delivered to wrong address" on the front of the envelope. If addressed to someone not living at your address, write "not at this address." In either case, deposit the mail into a street letter box or the outgoing mail slot of a Community Mailbox close to the scheduled pickup time.
7. Hold mail service for travelers - Canada Post’s Hold Mail service can help those who are planning to travel during the holidays. Mail will be held for a minimum of 2 weeks for a fee.

If you do find your Community mailbox broken into, report it to Canada Post at 1-866-607-6301 or online at www.canadapost.ca. Make sure you also report it to the St . Albert RCMP at 780- 458-7700.

If you have information about this crime OR ANY OTHER CRIMINAL OFFENCE and would like to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), online at p3tips.com, or with the P3 Tips app. Crime Stoppers does not collect information about your identity. A tip leading to an arrest may be eligible for a reward of up to $2,000.

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