Local woman starts Change.org petition urging USPS to make changes to decrease mail theft

A local woman has created a Change.org petition after her local mailbox was broken into multiple times. 

The petition, which was signed 113 times as of early Monday morning said, "We, the undersigned, demand that the United State Postal Service take action to prevent the theft of our mail and the vandalism of the mailboxes, that have been occurring on a regular basis. If the U.S. Post Office is unable to adequately secure our mail and mailboxes, then we the undersigned request that the Post Office resume the practice of delivering to each individual house to mitigate and deter the large scale of mail theft."

Mail theft has been an ongoing issue in Kern County as mailboxes all across Bakersfield have been targeted.

In a November interview, Jeff Fitch, a postal inspector for USPS said postal inspectors are stationed in Bakersfield that are actively working on these cases. 

He said USPS is replacing locks and in some cases entire mailboxes to prevent theft from reoccurring. 

"Boxes that do get replaced with the new high security boxes, they're harder to break into," said Fitch in a November interview with 23ABC. 

If your mailbox is tampered with or broken into USPS officials said don't call your local branch, instead call 1-877-876-2455. There are dispatchers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. 

Those dispatchers will reach out to the local branches. USPS officials said residents should also contact their local law enforcement office just to make them aware of the situation. According to the USPS in a November interview there is an uptick in mail theft statewide.