San Jose neighborhood pleads for more help to thwart mail thefts

SAN JOSE, Calif. - One south San Jose neighborhood says it has been hit by mail thieves so many times it wants all the community mailboxes replaced.  

Congressman Jimmy Panetta, who represents the area, is calling on the Postal Service to move from key locks to electronic locks to help cut down on attacks on mail carriers who are robbed of master keys. 

Panetta says mail theft of community mailboxes is up about 87% since the pandemic. 

In the Yerba Hills Court neighborhood in South San Jose, there are 16 banks of community mailboxes. Residents say that’s the problem – once a mail thief has a master key the thefts can go quickly with a lot of mail stolen all at one time. 

"The elderly and vulnerable have lost crucial medications. We have all lost tax documents. We are all at a higher risk of tax return fraud and identity theft.  We all lost packages. Children have lost out on packages sent from grandparents and grandparents have missed out on cards sent by loved ones," said Jonathan Young, a resident of the area and member of the homeowner association's board of directors.

Young said the Postal Service has re-keyed the community mailboxes, but that’s as far as it will go.  

"Complacency and indifference is unacceptable. It is frustrating and we are constantly on edge here," Young said. 

Panetta introduced what is called the "MAIL Theft Act" in Congress to address mail theft by allowing for more coordination between federal, state, and local law enforcement.  

"We stand together to ensure that more is done not just to protect our mail but also to protect our local mail carriers," Panetta said. 

The representative said letter carriers are often robbed to get their master keys, which are then used to open boxes and steal mail.  

Panetta said there were 30 such robberies of letter carriers in the Bay Area in 2023.  Local law enforcement agencies, including the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department and the San Jose Police Department, are in favor of Panetta’s legislation.

"We want to hold mail and package thieves accountable and send a strong message that praying on our community members for financial gain is not only wrong it is against the law," said Undersheriff Ken Binder of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department.

Panetta said the U.S. Postal Service declined an invitation to attend today’s news conference on mail security. 

KTVU has reached out to the Postal Service for comment but has not yet heard back.