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Drop boxes secured in wake of thefts
| Saturday, Sep 2 2006 6:40 PM
Last Updated: Saturday, Sep 2 2006 6:44 PM
Mail drop boxes that were broken into during the past month are now more secure, according to U.S. Postal Service officials.
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Collection boxes with "enhanced measures" have been installed at the Camino Media and downtown post offices in Bakersfield, said postal inspector David Guerra of San Francisco Division Headquarters.
Guerra said he could not specify what the enhancements were because he didn't want to compromise the investigation into recent thefts at those locations.
The drop box at the downtown post office was broken into twice in early August while one at the Camino Media post office was breached a couple weeks ago.
Residents whose mail was stolen told The Californian last week that thieves attempted to cash checks they had stolen from the collection boxes.
Since then, other area residents have come forward with tales of problems at local post offices.
Susan Richardson said bills she mailed at the post office on Stockdale Highway were lost when the drop box was broken into. Weeks went by and she noticed that the checks had never cleared.
Richardson began making calls to her creditors to let them know what happened and, fortunately, they believed her, she said. Still, she's upset she was never notified that the drop box had been broken into.
"My personal information was floating around Bakersfield," Richardson said. "I was extremely irritated."
Roberta Kessinger said that on numerous occasions when she's gone to the Camino Media post office to drop off mail, she's found the collection box filled so high that someone could easily grab handfuls of envelopes. In some instances, mail had spilled from the box and was lying on the ground.
"I go inside the post office now, and I'm seriously researching how to pay my bills online," Kessinger said.