Cluster-style mailboxes a gold mine for criminals
Residents in Palm Springs are speaking out after their cluster of neighborhood mailboxes were hit, yet again, Sunday night.
“The problem is that it starts with mailboxes and then could be houses,” John Barrowmen told CBS Local 2’s and KESQ’s News Channel 3’s Katie Widner.
“This is what we’re afraid of,” added his wife, Marion Barrowmen. “It’s just worrying that this is happening to the neighborhood.”
The Barrowmens are neighbors to Brett Vinovich in the PS Colony where the crimes have been taking place. Vinovich referred to it as a “rash” of break-ins.
“We have six of these mailboxes in our community. Six of these clusters- and there are about twenty families in each cluster- and all six have been broken into now within the last 12 months, and two of them have been broken into twice,” he said.
It is believed the thieves used a crowbar to open a portion of the mailbox, which then provided them access to all the mail inside, including packages. Cluster-style mailboxes can be a gold mine for criminals.
Palm Springs Police Department Sgt. William Hutchinson said the department was looking into the incident, however it is a common trend during the holidays.
“Unfortunately, it is the holiday season and these types of crimes go up dramatically with these types of thefts,” he said.
Hutchinson added that thieves have an extra incentive, not only looking to find confidential data so they can commit identity theft, but also score holiday valuables that they can sell out on the streets. He said often the criminals live in the surrounding neighborhood where they commit a crime and that it can be hard for police to solve these types of thefts because of a lack of evidence left behind.
Hutchinson said there are steps residents can take to prevent becoming a victim to the crime.
He recommended residents with similar-style mailboxes add extra lighting or even pay for an alarm system to be installed. The best bet, he said, was to have mail delivered to a secure location.
“You have to really consider weather you want convenience or security,” said Hutchinson.
He suggested a P.O. box for mail and having packages delivered to a neighbor.
