St. Albert RCMP investigate mail box theft

People affected by a mailbox theft in the Deer Ridge neighbourhood of St. Albert say they’re concerned their privacy may have been breached when the box was stolen, pried open and left in a farmer’s field earlier this month.

“You never know what information is leaking around and what the guys are able to do with it,” said Van Wall, who believes his mail was stolen.

“The wife came home and went to get the mail and the box was actually missing.  We immediately contacted our bank and credit bureau just to make sure that they were aware that some of our information could have been compromised.”

RCMP are now telling people in St. Albert to pick up their mail, if it’s in a community mailbox, as soon as possible.

Wall said he’s heeding the RCMP’s advice but would like Canada Post to properly secure the boxes, by encasing the base of the box in concrete, to prevent another theft from happening.

“They need to be anchored hard and not just have some lead weight in the bottom,” he said, adding that many of the newer boxes have concrete bases.

Heather Macadam picks up her mail in the same area where the mailbox was stolen. Her box wasn’t touched, but said she’s stunned by the brazen theft and now concerned about the safe arrival of Christmas packages.

“I think it sheds to light that more should be done to secure people’s mail,” she said.

St. Albert is one of the communities in Alberta that was selected by Canada Post to be among the first to lose door to door delivery. Some neighbourhoods will make the switch to community mailboxes in the early part of summer 2015.

The change is part of the Crown corporation’s plan to phase out home delivery to urban residents over the next five years.

A move that Macadam now questions in light of the recent theft in St. Albert.

“Is that really the best choice for them, I'm not so sure,” she said.

No one from Canada Post was available for comment.