ARLINGTON, Mass. — Police in multiple communities are still searching for whoever is responsible for stealing mail out of post office collection boxes.
The thefts happened in Arlington and Weston late Sunday night into early Monday morning.
“It’s a pretty big problem,” said Arlington Police Captain Richard Flynn. “It’s been ongoing for the last several months, and multiple agencies in New England are dealing with this.”
Weston police said any mail dropped off in the mailbox on Colpitts Road from Friday afternoon to early Monday morning should be assumed stolen.
After hitting that collection box, police said the thieves targeted a mailbox in front of the post office on Court St. in Arlington.
“Officers were in the area and immediately located the suspect vehicle, which evaded the police at high, unsafe speeds and was not able to be stopped,” Weston police said in a post on their Facebook page. “The vehicle then went directly to a Post Office in Arlington where they broke into that mailbox as well and subsequently were pursued by Arlington Police into Medford, when the suspects got away again.”
Both Arlington and Weston police said this wasn’t the first time those mailboxes have been targeted by thieves. “I think it’s frustrating,” said Tack Chase, of Weston. “I commend the police for not going on the high-speed chase because that leads to bad accidents.”
Anyone who tried to mail a check from the drop box on Colpitts Road in Weston or from the mailbox on Court St. in Arlington is encouraged to call their bank and cancel the checks.
“The big concern here is that they’re getting mail, they’re looking for checks, they get their hands on the checks, the checks are either washed or altered in one way or another and then they’re cashed for greater amounts,” said Flynn.
Police are urging people to stop using outdoor mail collection boxes and instead drop their mail off inside the post office. “It’s pretty hard to believe,” said Andrew Blair, of Weston. “I was about to put my checks in there and I’m glad that I didn’t.”
Back in September, Needham police reported mail was stolen from a collection box outside the post office on Great Plain Ave.
In January, a mail carrier in Peabody was robbed at gunpoint. The suspect took the carrier’s keys, which are used to open blue drop boxes.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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