DEPARTMENT: Police Department
DEPARTMENT HEAD: William P. McManus, Chief of Police
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Proposed Mail Theft Task Force
SUMMARY:
On June 20, 2018, the San Antonio Police Department briefed the Governance Committee on Department efforts related to investigating and preventing mail theft in response to a Council Consideration Request (CCR) submitted by Council members Greg Brockhouse, Ana Sandoval and Clayton Perry. The CCR sought consideration for the creation of a mailbox theft task force to review issues surrounding mail theft to include the investigative process and the creation of guidelines to address best practices in reducing theft from cluster mailboxes. The SAPD currently works in coordination with the United States Postal Inspector's Office and various local, state and Federal law enforcement agencies to prevent and investigate mail theft crimes which has resulted in a significant decrease in mail theft compared to 2017.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Mail Crimes
Since 2017, there have been a total of 514 mail crimes reported with 20 individuals arrested. The table below provides a breakdown by service area. It is important to note that there was an overall 24% decrease in mail crime in 2018 compared to 2017, with the most significant decrease in the North service area:
Service Area
2017
2018
North
155
55
Prue
66
86
East
26
16
West
22
23
South
11
22
Central |10 10|15
Bad Address |101010|TOTAL
292
222
SAPD Response & Investigation
The SAPD Property Crime Detail investigates criminal mischief offenses which includes damage done to mailboxes for the purpose of stealing mail.
The SAPD Financial Crimes Unit, which includes the Forgery and White Collar Crimes Details, are responsible for investigating fraud and credit card abuse that may result from mail box break-ins and mail theft in coordination with the USPI. Investigations of this nature require consid...
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