Thieves target several community mailboxes in southwest Calgary

Super mailboxes targeted by thieves Super mailboxes in West Calgary are being targeted by thieves. Kevin Green reports.

CALGARY — Calgary police are dealing with a rash of break ins and theft from Canada Post community mailboxes.

At least five incidents of mail theft from the boxes happened Nov. 21 between midnight and 6 a.m.

The crimes were concentrated in neighbourhoods in the West Springs Spring Bank Hill districts of southwest Calgary. Three were on a stretch of Cortina Drive S.W. in the neighbourhood of Montreux.

“We saw the damage the next morning and basically the parcels compartment were all broken into,” said Alain Plante, whose Cortina Drive community "superbox" was targeted.

“Our regular mail was not touched but unfortunately there were other mailboxes that got hit worse than we did.”

Several kilometres away on Wentworth Drive S.W., Mike Schlueter discovered his mailbox had been the target of a break in as well.

In his case the thieves broke open the parcel compartments and some personal mailboxes of area residents. Schlueter’s box was one of those broken into.

“They are getting pretty brazen,” Schleuter said of the thieves. He said he’s hopeful no personal information was stolen.

“I was waiting for some documents from the bank but I’ve since talked to them, and they hadn’t sent them out yet, so I’m hoping anything that was stolen was just junk mail.”

Schlueter reported the break in to police and was told there have been a string of mail thefts in Calgary’s west side neighbourhoods. Police are asking West Springs residents with security cameras to check for unusual activity between 12 a.m. and 6 a.m. on Nov 21.

Tips to avoid mail theft

Canada Post said it cannot comment while investigations into the thefts are in progress.

“We take the security of the mail very seriously and we work closely with police in cases of vandalism at community mailboxes,”
 Canada Post said in an emailed statement to CTV News.

The agency declined to comment on how it protects community mailboxes from theft.

“We don't divulge specific security measures or broader information related to our equipment publicly as doing so would significantly hamper their effectiveness,” it said.

Canada Post said when community mailboxes need to be repaired or replaced, letters are posted at sites to let customers know where they could pick up their mail.

No such letter was seen Monday at the five affected community mailboxes.

Canada Post said people who have not received an expected parcel should inform the sender, who can start a claim with Canada Post Customer Service at 1-800-267-1177.

Customers concerned about identity fraud should contact the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-495-8501.

Canada Post offered the following tips for preventing mail theft: