Description
Several mailboxes were opened on 44th Ave S in tukwila/Allentown neighborhood on Friday November 24th. My mail was stolen along with others in this neighborhood. After reading some similar issues that were reported on this website, it seems that this is getting to be a regular pattern. I check my mail regularly to avoid this from happening but I feel that this area is getting too crime ridden and over come with questionable occupants and it's getting out of control. Would like to see more patrols through here or the neighborhood cleaned up. I have reported this to the postal inspectors
10 Comments
Rachel (Registered User)
Johan (Registered User)
Islandgirl (Registered User)
Islandgirl (Registered User)
Acknowledged Brandon Miles (Registered User)
Your request has been received and has been assigned to the Tukwila Mayor’s Office. We will send you an update when you request has been resolved.
Thank you again for using Tukwila Works to help to make our community a better place by notifying City staff of this issue.
Regards,
City of Tukwila
Islandgirl (Registered User)
Brandon Miles (Registered User)
Sorry about your issue. I wanted to provide a brief update.
First, if you have not already, please contact the United States Postal Service to report mail theft and mail box tampering. Mail theft and mail box tampering is the jurisdiction of the United States Postal Inspector. You can report it by calling 877-876-2455 (press 3) or go to postalinspectors.uspis.gov.
Second, the Tukwila Police Department is aware of the mail theft and mail box tampering issue. If you see suspicious activity, please call 9-1-1 immediately so an officer can be dispatched.
Finally, I will have an update later this week about some additional efforts by the City to address the concerns of mail theft and mail box tampering raised here.
Best Regards,
Brandon Miles, Mayor's Office
Islandgirl (Registered User)
Unfortunately it feels like your reply is just a standard letter you send out and doesn't seem like much of a solution.
Brandon Miles (Registered User)
My response was a standard response to the mail theft concern you raised. The fact is mail theft and theft of deliveries is an ongoing problem throughout the Puget Sound region. Tukwila Police Officers, like other law enforcements officers, are always on the lookout for suspicious behavior in neighborhoods, but this theft can happen very fast and the perpetrators can be long gone before police officers can respond.
Unfortunately, the best solution that all police agencies can recommend, is prevention (it looks like you have already taken some of these precautions):
1. Locking mailboxes. The City has a grant program for neighbors to work together to replace their mailboxes with locking mailboxes. Some locking mailboxes have box compartments that can be shared with neighbors. Yes, people can break in to these as well. By these are a proven deterrent. Another idea is to get a PO box, which are inexpensive for the security they provide.
2. Opt in to electronic delivery for bill statements and credit cards.
3. Don’t have packages delivered at home when no one is there. I know this can be an inconvenience, but these are just inviting people to take them. You could have packages delivered to a work place, use an amazon locker, or have the post office hold on to them.
4. Ask a neighbor to receive packages for you or pick them up when they see you are not home.
5. Continue to report mail theft and parcel theft to the US Postal Inspector and the City’s Police Department. Reporting the theft creates a case file and, should mail be found, can be linked with the victim. Also, reporting the incident to the City’s Police Department allows for us to monitor trends to deploy resources or obtain additional resources in an area. Please note that Tukwila Works is not an online crime reporting tool.
Tukwila Police will continue to do what they can, but this is an issue where prevention is the easiest way to address the problem. It is an intractable issue throughout the region and we continue to identify strategies to address the problem. We would be more than open to any ideas you may have. If people are interested in the grant program for locking mailboxes please call me at (206) 431-3684.
As for the more overall arching neighborhood issues raised, the City has invested significantly in its code enforcement division with new officers. If there is a house of concern with trash, overgrown weeds, junk cars, etc. please report them to Code Enforcement. These issues can be reported on Tukwila Works.
Best Regards,
Brandon Miles, Mayor's Office
Islandgirl (Registered User)
Thank you for your help!