After multiple break-ins, mailbox
improvements to come

By LYNETTE HAALAND
Four Points News

Over the summer, there were four break-ins to community mailboxes in Steiner Ranch, affecting hundreds of residents. Mail thieves have been arrested and the homeowners association announced last week that it will spend more than $20,000 to update the mailboxes to deter it from happening again.

The most recent hit was at the end of July and arrests have been made, even though the investigation continues as financial losses continue to be reported when discovered by residents.

“The investigation is going on and arrests have been made. There are more than one person behind bars,” said Mike Sullivan, postal inspector at US Postal Inspection Service in the Austin area.

The inspector knows for certain that people in the larger mail theft ring, that has been affecting Austin over the past year, were in the Four Points area.

“We think we have the people responsible for Steiner Ranch’s (mail theft) behind bars, but I cannot say how long they’ll stay there,” Sullivan said.

Usually mail theft sentences at the state level are around a year or so, depending on the burden caused.

Sullivan said that the mail theft in Steiner Ranch is related to mail theft in north and south Austin.

“We have a group that moved into Austin and set up camp here,” he said. “They all know each other (and are part of) splinter groups. They share info in jail, rehab facilities, you name it,” Sullivan said.

People in this crime ring are not local and are generally from California or Arizona and they have migrated east. “They bounce from couch to couch, hotel to hotel,” Sullivan said.

“The people who we generally see (in this theft ring) are meth heads looking for quick cash, for a quick hit,” Sullivan said. They generally forge checks for cash or steal gift cards.

“They are not sophisticated and they are not patient enough for identity theft, which can take three weeks to get a credit card and PIN (personal identification number),” he said.

Sullivan calls them thieves of opportunity.

“They will pry the boxes open if they get the opportunity to do so, if they think the area is vulnerable,” Sullivan said.
Thieves use hammers, screwdrivers and crowbars to pry the boxes open. Boxes in well-lighted, highly visible and high traffic areas are less of a target, he added.
The more time it looks like it will take to break in, the higher chance the thief will be caught, Sullivan said.

Mailbox improvements
The Steiner Ranch Master Association Board of Directors voted on Aug. 29 to spend more than $19,000 on materials to make specific improvements to mailboxes in the community due to the recent break-ins. Discussion included that labor and materials could cost more than $30,000 for the project.

According to law enforcement and officials from the U.S. Post Office, thieves are using openings to outgoing mail slots to force open the front facing kiosk doors.

There are 90 such outgoing mail slots of this style through which break-in may be achieved with relative ease, reported Mack Taylor, Steiner Ranch community manager to the board.

After discussion, the board voted to replace these mail slots with solid panels. Replacement slotted doors are no longer manufactured due to these security issues, Taylor told the board.

The HOA sent out an email to residents about the plans to update the mailboxes which stated: In most kiosk locations in Steiner, there are outgoing mail slots of a newer style which are much more difficult to open. All recent Steiner thefts involved the older style, none from the newer, so residents will still be able to send outgoing mail.

There are, however, several locations, that after the update, will not have an outgoing mail slot available. At these locations, a standalone outgoing box will be installed, the board decided.

Officials said that the timeline for this project is being developed and will be shared with residents when materials are received to make the changes. The installation will also require coordination with the Lakeway Post Office.

The board considered adding cameras to all SRMA mailbox locations, however per law enforcement and post office personnel, surveillance footage captured from similar thefts has typically not been helpful as thieves frequently conceal their identity and park their cars out of camera view. Given the high cost to install and monitor cameras at 49 mailbox locations, the board felt the low probability of identifying thieves was not worth the expense, the email to residents stated.

Instead, the board felt it most prudent to spend HOA dollars updating mailbox doors, which may help prevent thefts from occurring in the first place.

Mail theft in Austin
It was about a year ago that the Postal Inspection Service noticed a spike in overall mail thefts in the Austin area. The number of reported thefts has levelled off since then.
More recently, there have been reports of mail theft over the last several months in Kyle, San Marcos, South Austin

“We captured two people in April or May for the Kyle (break-ins) and two in south Austin recently,” Sullivan said.

The sheriff’s office does not investigation these crimes.

“When it comes to mailbox theft, we file criminal mischief charges for the damage to the mailbox, but it’s the Postmaster who investigates items stolen from the mailbox,” said Kristen Dark, Travis County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

There is usually not a mail theft problem in Steiner or communities nearby, Sullivan said.

“I don’t have a lot financial loss out in Steiner,” Sullivan said.

Mail theft victim tips
If a financial loss has been discovered, Sullivan wants to know about it and he urges people to make a report online at postalinspectors.uspis.gov or by calling at (877) 876-2455.

“We take mail theft very seriously,” Sullivan said. He added that it errods the process.

The inspector recommends several deterrents.

“Collect your mail everyday or have a friend or neighbor get it for you,” Sullivan said. Additionally, report suspicious activity by calling 9-1-1.

Additionally the HOA recommends that residents let the post office hold their mail while they are out of town.