Steal the mail, start a debate
On Dec. 19, the Hartsville Police Department posted a story on its Facebook page about how one of their officers, standing in his yard, saw two people steal his mail right out of his mailbox “in broad daylight.” He chased them in his unmarked police car, the HPD said, and got permission from the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office to pull them over. (This apparently was in the county’s jurisdiction, not the city’s.) “It appears they were looking for specific things like checks or gift cards,” the HPD wrote, “because they would … throw out what they didn’t want.” The Sheriff’s Office jailed them on what the Hartsville police described as unrelated charges. The Hartsville police used this account as a warning to the public about the risk of mail theft, especially during the holidays, when many people are sending gift cards to friends and relatives. The HPD’s post got 50 comments – basically a small debate on the whole issue of mail theft. Here are some of them: — “This has been happening for months.” — “Happens all the time here on Lakeview.” — “Low-life no-accounts.” — “Please, people, get to know your postwoman or –man (or) delivery persons. They are watchful, but can’t see everything.” — “Some people stole company checks from our mailbox and wrote a $40K check.” — “That’s good and all, but is that what it takes for you to catch them? To steal police mail in broad daylight while you watch?” — “Watch out for your neighbors. Usually the same few letter carriers come through every day. I know the two in my neighborhood by sight.” — Bobby Bryant
