HELENA – Helena residents are urged to secure their mail, and take precautions to prevent letters and packages from being stolen.
According to the Helena Police Department, there have been 130 reported cases of mail theft this year.
The post office says there are some easy steps people can take to secure their mail.
They include checking the mail every day to prevent a mailbox from becoming overfull, and drawing attention.
If you plan to be out of town, have the post office hold mail delivery.
Have packages delivered to your work, or another secure location, and don’t leave outgoing mail in an unsecured mailbox overnight.
Lieutenant Cory Bailey says “we get numerous thefts and it’s a crime of opportunity. It’s very difficult, unless we’ve got video of the person stealing it, or we have a suspect that was seen in the area. It’s hard for us to track these.”
If you think you are a victim of mail theft, report your case online to the Postal Service.
You can sign up to receive an email every time mail or packages are delivered to your house through the Postal Service Informed Delivery webpage.
You can find the Informed Delivery link here.