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Editorial: Mailbox thefts a holiday tradition that needs to end

Many of us grew up believing that the security of mail was sacrosanct, and that “tampering with the mail” was a crime that came with such serious consequences, no one in their right mind would even attempt it. There’s an obvious reason for this.
mailbox
A community mailbox on Hotel Lake Road was also targeted.

Many of us grew up believing that the security of mail was sacrosanct, and that “tampering with the mail” was a crime that came with such serious consequences, no one in their right mind would even attempt it. There’s an obvious reason for this. Mail theft invades the inner sanctum of people’s lives, potentially robbing them of the cheques they need to live on, bills they have to pay, personal letters and documents that are of vital importance, and irreplaceable gifts.

Which makes it almost incomprehensible that on the Sunshine Coast there has developed a criminal tradition, especially popular in the lead-up to Christmas, of raiding community mailboxes on an almost industrial scale. It’s been bad in recent years in Sechelt, Roberts Creek and Halfmoon Bay, but this month it hit Pender Harbour with a vengeance. At last count 17 community mailboxes had been broken into and stripped of their contents, along with the Canada Post Office in Garden Bay. All except a handful along Redrooffs Road were in the Pender Harbour area.

When we contacted Canada Post for comment, the Crown corporation responded: “We can confirm that there have been some recent incidents of community mailbox vandalism in Garden Bay and Madeira Park. As these incidents are being investigated by the RCMP it would be inappropriate to comment or provide details.”

Describing these criminal acts as mere “vandalism” is far off the mark, but it perhaps reveals an attitude by Canada Post toward the looting of its vandalized property. The fact that after years of mailbox thefts in the region, there was no surveillance footage, even from its own post office building in Garden Bay, strongly suggests that Canada Post has not taken this problem seriously enough.

Fortunately the Mounties have, and Staff Sgt. Poppy Hallam told us Wednesday that Sunshine Coast RCMP are pursuing a promising lead. A cheque stolen from one of the mailboxes had been altered and cashed, and investigators were working with the bank involved in the transaction to trace it back to the source. In the meantime, the RCMP are asking the public to be vigilant and to call 911 if they see suspicious activity around community mailboxes.

Mail theft is a serious crime. Conviction, when charged as an indictable offence, can result in up to 10 years in prison.

The public should do everything it can to help the RCMP put an end to this criminal tradition. And Canada Post should get its act together and become part of the solution.