Repeated mail theft in the south Seattle neighborhood, as well as a stolen master key used to open collection boxes, cluster box units and outdoor parcel lockers, prompted the USPS to take this drastic action while "improvements to the affected equipment were made," said a mail service spokesman.
"All mail was delivered to the impacted residents," this person added. "We appreciate the patience and understanding of the community as we work to preserve the safety and sanctity of the mail."
The USPS put up a sign in the Columbia neighborhood just prior to the mail service halt notifying area residents that "Due to the rise in mail theft and vandalism we will be holding all mail for your address. We do not have an exact date of when all master locks will be replaced."
Many Columbia residents apparently missed these signs and had no idea that their mail was going to be halted. Instead, they found out about the issue from neighbors or through Facebook.
(Related: Last summer, some Seattle businesses began dropping one-ton concrete blocks on the sidewalks outside their establishments to deter vagrants.)
Seattle residents forced to wait in hour-long queues at local postal annex to pick up mail
During the time when home mail service was paused in the 98118 zip code, affected residents were forced to go pick up their mail in person at the local postal annex. In some cases, it took up to an hour for some residents to get through the queue for their mail.
Currently, Seattle's violent crime rate has hit a 15-year high. Based on 2022 annual crime statistics, there have been 5,642 reported cases of violent crime throughout the city, including 52 murders, 321 rapes, 1,759 robberies and 3,510 aggravated assaults.
As far as property crime, Seattle saw 44,408 recorded crimes, including 8,678 for burglary and 28,627 for larceny-theft – the highest numbers since 2008, the time of the last market crash.
So far this year, there have been 16 murders in Seattle, 103 rape offenses, 429 robberies and 925 aggravated assaults, as well as 2,564 cases of burglary and 7,110 larceny-theft cases.
Since being sworn into office in January 2022, Democrat Mayor Bruce Harrell has also had to grapple with Seattle's out-of-control homeless crisis, which includes a growing number of homeless encampments appearing throughout the city.
Harrell specifically promised to deal with these homeless encampments, which are filled with people who shoot up heroin and smoke fentanyl right on the street.
In 2022, Seattle dedicated $173 million towards dealing with its homeless crisis. This is a 125 percent increase from the $77 it allotted in 2018.
The new updated budget includes a $9.8 million spending package dedicated to the removal of homeless encampments, which tend to pop up around RVs parked throughout the city.
All these efforts, though, have accomplished nothing. In fact, the number of homeless encampments in Seattle only continues to increase, jumping from 763 last May to 814 the following June.
Last year, 13,368 people were said to be experiencing homelessness in King County, where Seattle is located. Open-air drug markets have become the norm, particularly at the corner of 3rd Avenue and Pine Street in downtown Seattle, where drug users are regularly seen overdosing and where violent crime abounds.
Over the past 10 years, the number of robberies occurring against postal carries all across the United States has quadrupled. In most USPS robbery cases, weapons are reportedly used by the criminals to steal other people's letters and parcels.
More new coverage about the demise of left-wing Seattle can be found at Collapse.news.
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