Mail carriers nationwide are warning of a rise in robberies against them and urging the United States Postal Service to intervene to protect them on their routes.
Robberies on mail carriers have exploded in recent years, more than quadrupling over the past decade, according to the Associated Press, which obtained such statistics via a records request to the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
In 2022, there were 496 robberies that resulted in 31 injuries to postal carriers.
“The National Association of Letter Carriers is outraged and angered by the assaults, armed robberies and even murders that America’s letter carriers increasingly face as they deliver the mail,” said union Executive Vice President Paul Barner. “These attacks are completely unacceptable. … While we will continue to engage with the Postal Service and relevant law enforcement agencies to develop measures that will enhance the safety of letter carriers, the fear and the danger that letter carriers are confronting has to end.”