Robbery Crime Rates Are on the Rise in the City of Chicago
Oftentimes, many of different places become the target for the majority of thieves in the city of Chicago. Unfortunately, people are being robbed of valuable merchandise, and even if it was not valuable, they are still stealing regardless if it’s expensive or if it’s cheap. They really do not care if they harm people doing these types of crimes. This is becoming a problem, because the statistics of this specific crime are rising. More and more thieves are committing crimes which is something that has to change. The reason why this has to stop now, is that it for sure affects those who are involved in it, like the victims, in terms of physical, emotional, or their business’ financial situation. Now the target of thieves is mail carriers, because they want to obtain their master key to further commit their crime objectives.
The Statistics of These U.S. Postal Service Robberies
The statistics of mail carriers being robbed are increasing dramatically. In fact, now there have been about twelve mail carrier robberies that have occurred, since March. This basically means that there have been more than a dozen reports of mail carrier robberies in just one month. According to Senator Dick Durbin, the reports of mail carrier robberies have tripled or even more between 2018 and 2021. This statement shows that not much has been done in order to ensure the safety of mail carriers in the city of Chicago.
This issue for the U.S. postal service is getting out of control to the point where the workers of these companies don’t feel safe anymore when delivering letters, package orders, or anything of that sort.
One worker says, “It’s getting to a point where safety for our postal workers or postal carriers, in particular, needs to be addressed, one postal worker was killed in Milwaukee.” This postal service worker statement shows and demonstrates how even there are workers that are being killed for these senseless robberies.
More Cases and What Workers Think Should Be Done
The worker also addressed how there for sure needs to be more safety policies established. Along with this, there should also be more gun control, because there are a lot of workers that are suffering the consequences of these robberies. There have also been cases where workers have gone missing. There is one specific case about a postal worker named Kierra Coles, who was pregnant at the time when she disappeared in 2018.
As this information was being released, Gibbons, a fellow postal worker and community activist said that cases should not occur. The reason is that he expresses that these workers are performing a “public service.” He also talked about what changes there could be regarding robberies or any type of crime toward public mail carriers. He says that there should be, “an increase in police hires, license plate readers, neighborhood crime cameras installed, and more.” These are some of the ideas that he provided in terms of how safety should be improved in order to decrease the high rates of crime.
The Community Is Concerned for Their Safety!
The entire community is concerned about these types of robberies that are occurring in the communities of Chicago. Especially the workers themselves. Police have described these mail carrier robbers as three armed men in dark clothes and ski masks. They are aiming for the master key. They want this item because they know that they can commit fraud. Also, steal mail trucks and all types of illegal crimes. This is why there needs to be a change and increase in safety.
The community needs to be careful out there, because there are people looking for trouble. According to some community members in Little Village, “This is not even surprising anymore. The police are letting this continue, and there needs to be a change. If the police do not proceed on this issue to make it better, we need to speak up, to move them.” This shows that the community is expressing their concern and people are asking for help, to stop this stealing problem for mail carriers.
The Good News
However, the good news for the postal workers is that Dick Durbin said that he is calling on the USPS and Department of Justice to take steps to better protect mail carriers. This is a crucial step for a positive impact. The voices of all the victims and the entire community need to be heard.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
Chicago Tribune: Chicago postal carriers continue to be robbed at gunpoint, including 12 in last month: police
FOX 32: Criminals targeting Chicago mail carriers to steal this item
Interview: Community Members
WBBM News Radio: Chicago postal workers demand more safety as USPS robberies rise
WGN 9: Chicago police warn of armed robberies targeting USPS mail carriers
Inset Image Courtesy of Atomic Taco Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Featured Image Courtesy of Marco Verch Professional Photographer Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
