String of rural Manitoba community mailbox thefts comes as holiday online shopping surges

If you live in rural Manitoba, you might want to consider having those online holiday shopping purchases routed somewhere other than your local community mailbox.

That's a suggestion from the RCMP after multiple reports of Canada Post community mailbox thefts in several rural areas.

"With more and more people doing their shopping online and having items delivered, I can see why this would be a concern with many people as the items they're purchasing are being stolen," said RCMP Sgt. Paul Manaigre on Thursday.

He said Headingley RCMP received reports of four mailbox thefts between Nov. 8 and Nov. 20, while another four thefts in La Broquerie and nearby Steinbach were reported to local RCMP on Nov. 29.

Manaigre said there were two more reports, on Dec. 3 and Dec. 4, in Grande Pointe and on Dawson Road in nearby Lorette. In those cases, Mounties drove around a large area and found six separate community mailboxes were hit.

One of the items stolen near Steinbach was a "very expensive pair of boots," said Manaigre.

The Steinbach-area mailboxes were damaged during the thefts and repairs are underway.

"We take the security of the mail very seriously and we work closely with the police on such cases," said a Canada Post spokesperson.

'Maybe there's links'

Canada Post declined to comment further, citing the ongoing police investigations. They responded similarly to media requests earlier this week after reports of community mailbox thefts in an Edmonton neighbourhood.

The La Broquerie thefts appear to have happened soon after the mail was deposited, which Manaigre said raises questions about whether someone was following a Canada Post vehicle around.

RCMP are investigating and don't know of any connections, and Manaigre said it's possible these are "crimes of convenience."

"Who knows, maybe there's links with this," Manaigre said. "Maybe they've been successful in the past and see this as an easy way to obtain goods" to then sell for cash, he added.

Recent numbers suggest Oakbank and Headingley may be targeted more than other rural communities, said Manaigre, but despite the recent thefts, community mailboxes aren't targeted too often.

There were three reported in St. François Xavier, just west of Winnipeg, dating back to October and at least one recently in the Killarney area in southwestern Manitoba.

But there were no such reports of mailbox thefts or theft attempts in Stonewall in 2019; St-Pierre-Jolys only had a couple this year; and there were around 10 in Selkirk, which has a population of roughly 10,000, in the past 12 months.

Redirecting valuable packages

Val Connolly, the longtime co-owner of Headingley Foods, said she has heard from customers several times in recent months about mailbox break-ins in the area.

Headingley Foods has functioned as a local "flex mail" drop off zone for Canada Post for 12 years, which allows locals to have their packages routed to the store for pickup instead of the community mailbox or doorstep.

"We've had a few people that are now doing the flex deliveries because of that reason, especially at this time of year," said Connolly.

"It's getting closer to Christmas — you don't want to be stuck without your parcel that you ordered."

Manaigre said hopefully the thefts aren't the beginning of a holiday trend. He encourages anyone who comes across signs of a theft from a mailbox to report it to their local RCMP detachment.

"My impression I'm getting is not everyone is reporting it to police," he said. "We may not have a true picture perhaps of the severity of the problem."

He said people in rural areas who rely on community mailboxes may want to consider having valuable items shipped to alternative addresses in the lead-up to the holidays.

Canada Post said customers have a variety of delivery options, including flex delivery and having mail redirected to a post office.

Anyone who suspects they've had parcels stolen can contact Canada Post customer service at 1-800-267-1177.