Community mailbox in St. John's found unlocked with mail exposed

A resident of Parsonage Drive in St. John's is worried about the safety of his mail, after finding a number of letters and packages exposed in a community mailbox on the street.

The man, who wished not to be identified, said he drove by the community mailbox he uses, and noticed the front panel was open Saturday afternoon.

The mailbox in question had been installed on the street for at least a few years, he said.

After taking his own mail, he called Canada Post and was told someone would come to secure the mailbox.

However, hours later he said the panel was still open, which has him concerned.

"They said we take mail security very seriously, and that they would get somebody out right away," he said. "But this seems the opposite of taking our mail security seriously."

Human error likely cause

A representative with Canada Post told CBC that human error is usually the cause of such incidents, as the door sometimes doesn't secure when closed.

They also said anyone who finds an open community mailbox should call the Canada Post, as well as the police, if concerned about the security of the mail in the unit.

The man also said seeing all those private letters and packages exposed has him questioning the community mailbox model in general.

"Especially this time of year, there's lots of stuff going, so it gives me very little confidence in this new system they're setting up," he said.

"At least when it was door to door, you know what was going on."