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As the holiday season kicks into high gear, delivery drivers are finding themselves facing increased dangers from brazen criminals aiming to spoil the festivities.
Recent incidents of robberies and carjackings targeting drivers from major carriers such as Amazon, FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service have drawn attention to the escalating threats drivers encounter while making deliveries.
In the last month alone, delivery drivers across the nation have fallen victim to thefts and assaults, prompting concerns for their safety.
According to the Postal Police Officers Association, assaults on postal workers have surged by 231% in the past three years, with 412 mail carriers robbed in 2020. The situation worsened in 2021, with 305 employee robberies reported in just the first half of the year.
Thieves are increasingly targeting postal workers for their “arrow keys,” which can be used to open most postal boxes.
U.S. Postal Inspection Service National Public Information Officer Michael Martel said that there is a proliferation of online instructions on how to use the keys, which can fetch thousands of dollars on the black market.
Thieves exploit this to obtain financial documents, prescriptions and other valuable items, leading to an alarming increase in armed robberies of letter carriers from 36 incidents in 2018 to 154 in 2021.
To address the escalating crisis, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiated “Project Safe Delivery” in May, enhancing security measures for mail collection boxes and installing electronic locks on over 10,000 boxes.
The initiative has also led to 109 arrests for robberies and more than 530 arrests for mail theft since it was established, with more law enforcement presence surrounding drivers.
“There is certainly increased opportunity for mail theft to occur around the holiday season,” Martel told Fox News. “The Postal Service and project safe delivery will continue through the holidays to keep American mail and our employees safe.”
However, despite these efforts, incidents continue to occur.
Recent cases include a FedEx driver shot during a carjacking in Colorado and an armed carjacking of an Amazon driver in Connecticut.
According to the Denver Police Department, the FedEx driver was treated at a hospital for minor injuries.
“No arrests have been made. The case remains under investigation, including if anything was stolen from the vehicle,” the department said in a statement.
Another notable incident occurred in Chicago on Thanksgiving when a FedEx driver was robbed at gunpoint in broad daylight.
In response to the crimes, a spokesperson for FedEx told Fox News that “the safety of [its] team members and the security of [its] customers’ shipments” were a top priority. “We have rigorous safety and security programs in place intended to ensure team members are safe and customer property is protected,” the spokesperson wrote in an email.
Delivery drivers in various cities, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Houston, Phoenix and San Francisco, have staged “Enough Is Enough” rallies demanding safer working conditions.
The Prince George’s County Police Department in Maryland shed light on one case of a female UPS delivery driver being assaulted and carjacked, which was recorded on a Ring doorbell camera.
“They just pulled a gun out on me,” the UPS driver told dispatchers in the video.
“It’s very brazen, in the middle of the day,” a neighbor told FOX 5. “Most of the homes have cameras, so to do that right in front of everybody’s house who has front view cameras, it’s a little unnerving.”
In response to the rising threats, Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) introduced the Postal Police Reform Act, which aims to empower postal police officers to operate and make arrests beyond USPS property.
Collins urgently called for the need to protect mail carriers and secure the entire postal system in the face of an unacceptable increase in postal crime.
Durbin echoed these concerns on X, noting a substantial rise in thefts targeting postal workers. “Over the past three years, assaults against postal employees delivering mail has increased by 231 percent. Letter carriers deserve to feel safe while on the job, and my legislation ensures that postal police can adequately protect letter carriers from real threats on their routes,” he wrote.
As the holiday season progresses, delivery drivers and postal workers remain on high alert, with law enforcement and policymakers working to address the challenges posed by opportunistic criminals.
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