How Secure are the Upgraded Community Mailboxes

Metro Vancouver now has the distinction of being the mail theft capital of Canada, accounting for almost half of all mail thefts from community mailboxes across the country. This is based on information collected and released by Canada Post for 2013 and, so far this year, there are already over 250 break-ins in Langley alone. This has left many residents worried about the risk of identity theft, to be sure.

You’ve likely also heard that Canada Post plans on rolling out a lot more community mailboxes in the next five years, gradually phasing out the traditional door-to-door delivery service that many of us have come to expect for our homes. They say this will save them $500 million, but that doesn’t sound all that worth it if it means that we will continue to have such a significant problem with mail theft. We’ve commented on this problem before and that is why we recommend that you sign up for a far more secure mailbox rental service with us. Our mailbox rental is secure and staffed, unlike the largely unmonitored community mailboxes that can be placed in unsafe or inconvenient locations.

All this being said, Canada Post claims that the problems with break-ins on these community mailboxes are largely tied to the original boxes that were deployed in communities throughout Metro Vancouver. “They were a very poor quality,” said Langley Township Councillor Steve Ferguson. “Basically, they were easily broken into by people just using a simple screwdriver or a crowbar or something like that.”

The good news is that Canada Post already has a replacement program in place that should provide hardier and more secure community mailboxes. They have already upgraded 1,500 mailboxes, but it is still difficult to say just how secure these new mailboxes will be. If the thieves still have easy access to these mailboxes and they can still break into them, they are still gaining access to dozens of households at a time. Hopefully, it’ll take more than a “simple screwdriver” to get in there.

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