CHICAGO (CBS) — Thieves have been utilizing grasp keys to steal mail and police have been monitoring them for months – but it’s nonetheless taking place.
However how are the thieves getting a maintain of the grasp keys? A former put up workplace supervisor informed CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov Tuesday why the system to trace them doesn’t all the time work.
“You must register for these keys, and the clerk clears you on the finish of the day if you return,” mentioned the previous supervisor.
That’s the manner it’s purported to work inside america Publish Workplace. The previous supervisor, who didn’t need to be recognized, mentioned carriers get assigned a number of delicate gadgets earlier than they begin their routes.
One is a grasp key – additionally known as an arrow key – that opens all locked mailboxes, like those inside multi-unit buildings. They’re purported to be logged and returned on the finish of a service’s shift.
“You needed to be checked,” the previous supervisor mentioned. “You might not depart until we checked every part.”
However as we now have been reporting, thieves have been utilizing these keys to access mailboxes and steal mail. Most not too long ago, two suspects have been caught on safety digital camera accessing and rifling via mail in a condo building in the Clybourn Corridor area.
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Despite the fact that there’s a system in place to trace these grasp or arrow keys, our former supervisor acknowledges it’s not foolproof.
“I’ve had them misplaced, stolen, misplaced,” he mentioned. “There’s some keys which have been lacking for a number of years.”
And he mentioned as soon as a grasp secret’s gone, it’s gone.
So we submitted a public information request, asking the USPS what number of thefts involving grasp keys are at the moment being investigated. The reply is 41 – however they couldn’t say what number of of these instances particularly contain the usage of a grasp key.
And oddly, the investigation into the thefts shouldn’t be on the checklist of open investigations – although it was reported this month, and a spokesperson informed us postal inspectors are engaged on it.
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We are going to as soon as once more observe up.
