HAMPTON, Va. — A mail theft alert is out in the city of Hampton. Police and federal postal inspectors are investigating a string of vandalism and thefts of blue mail drop-off boxes across the city.
The Hampton Police Division and the United States Postal Inspector Task Force said the vandalism and thefts of the mailboxes happened between Oct. 23 and Dec. 11.
Here is a list of at least eight locations where police said the crimes happened:
- 3100 block of Victoria Boulevard
- 200 block of Hampton Roads Avenue
- 2000 block of Kecoughtan Road
- 1300 block of LaSalle Avenue
- 2000 block of Nickerson Boulevard
- 1900 block of E. Pembroke Avenue
- 1500 block of E. Pembroke Avenue
- 1st block of E. Mellen Street
Stealing mail and tampering with mailboxes are federal crimes. The thieves went to at least eight blue postal mail drop-off boxes across the city damaging property, and potentially stealing residents’ mail.
“Especially in times like these people need to save all the money they can. If they are losing their money in the mail that's just sad," Hampton Resident Ryan Noonan said.
Noonan lives near one of the mail drop-off boxes that criminals got a hold of on Victoria Boulevard. This drop-off box is near an elementary school and located at the Hampton Health Department.
“I have used it before. It’s a little concerning. You know mail is supposed to be secure and drop it and forget about it. But if these boxes are open and emptied by other people that aren't post office workers, that’s a pretty scary thing," Noonan said.
Noonan said he walks his dog every day by the mailbox and noticed something out of the ordinary.
“I was walking her back yesterday. I noticed that this post office box was completely open with the P.O. Box for collecting mail was just out," Noonan said.
Many of the blue postal drop-off boxes are minutes from each other. One of the boxes sits at the corner of Hampton Roads Boulevard next to a church.
Right now, investigators don't have any suspect information at this time.
“If we don't trust the mail being secure anymore, that's a huge blow to our society as a whole. I think that it's very important that the police stay on top of this and figure out what exactly happening with these boxes," Noonan said.
The Hampton Police Division said the safest way to drop off your mail is to go inside a post office building or physically hand them to a mail carrier.
If you believe that your mail has been stolen, please call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455.