BELLEVUE, Wash. — Mail theft a growing problem in western Washington and neighborhoods on the eastside are becoming hot spots.
Bellevue police enlisted the help of the United States Postal Inspection Service to help track down the thieves.
Video provided by the Bellevue Police Department show thieves cruising around neighborhoods and going through several mailboxes at a time.
"I have seen neighbors complaining about packages missing off their doorsteps and I have seen a lot of people complaining about mailboxes being broken into,” said Ofelia Reyes, a Bellevue resident.
Reyes lives in the Newport Hills neighborhood. While Reyes said she hasn't noticed any of her mail missing, she's aware other neighbors haven't been as lucky.
"It’s concerning, especially during the holidays when we’re all getting packages, important mail, cards,” said Reyes.
Bellevue is seeing a 72% increase in mail theft reports for November of this year compared to last year, and the trend is continuing into December.
Package theft reports more than doubled in November, with 19 reported.
Police say the actual numbers are probably higher because people often don't report the thefts.
It's become such a problem that the Bellevue Police Department is teaming up with the United States Postal Inspection Service in order to add additional resources to track down the thieves.
An inspector is now embedded in the Bellevue Police Department to help crack down on mail and package theft.
"If we do recover mail from the crime, we're able to call the Postal Inspector, and he can come out and investigate it,” said Major Andrew Popochock.
Police will use bait boxes across the eastside in order to track and arrest porch pirates.
Police urge people to take action in order to help prevent being a victim of mail or package theft. Those actions include:
- Promptly picking up your mail
- Signing up for Informed Delivery
- Requesting signature confirmation
- Promptly reporting any theft