Frequently Asked Questions

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Gun Barrel has heard of several reports of mail theft from neighborhoods throughout the city.  We are asking residents to be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood and report any suspicious activity to the police department.  Watch your neighborhood mailboxes for suspicious activity/people. Report anyone loitering or behaving strangely, looking into or opening mailboxes and removing mail.  Suspicious activity may include people walking from mailbox to mailbox, or driving in a car from mailbox-to-mailbox and attempting to open and remove mail. If you see any suspicious activity or believe your mail was stolen, call 911 immediately and report it.

Sign up for Informed Delivery through the postal service.  While this won’t prevent mail theft, it will provide you with a daily picture of all letter size mail that is on its way to your mailbox. If you do not receive mail that was supposed to be delivered, you can call the police and report it right away.  You can sign up for this free service through the United States Postal Service at https://informeddelivery.usps.com. 

What are thieves looking for?  Cash, checks, gift cards, account numbers, your social security number, banking details, pay stubs, and identifying information like your name and date of birth.

Go green. Switch to paperless billing and statements to reduce the amount of sensitive mail you receive.

Purchase a lockable mailbox.  A lockable mailbox allows the postal carrier to deliver mail through a slot in the mailbox, but requires a key to open and retrieve mail.

Don’t flag your mailbox as a target.  Using the red flag on your mailbox can alert thieves that there is something in your mailbox to be stolen. Hand your mail directly to a letter carrier, use a secured USPS blue mailbox, or go directly to your local Post Office to send mail.

Pick up your mail regularly. Don’t leave letters in the mailbox for several days, over the weekend or even overnight, if possible. Make checking your mailbox part of your daily routine.

Stop delivery. Alert the Post Office if you are going out of town and request them to temporarily stop the delivery of your mail.  When you return, you can pick up your mail at the local post office and resume normal delivery.

Talk to your neighbors.  If your mail was stolen, let your neighbors know.  They may not realize their mail was stolen too. Watching out for your neighbors helps to build relationships and keep your neighborhood safe.  Look at joining our Neighborhood Watch group.

Contact hppoa.crimewatch@gmail.com with questions.