Fort Worth is the No. 1 city in the U.S. for thefts from blue outdoor postal collection boxes. Texas is the top state for such thefts, says the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram. Three hundred thefts from blue boxes were reported nationwide last year. Two hundred were in Texas; 34 were in California.
No one seems to know why Texas leads the pack in this crime category. Lawrence Dukes of the Postal Inspection Service says the crimes, which inspectors call volume mail thefts, are usually conducted by organized groups. In fiscal 2010, the Fort Worth regional office reported 195 arrests and 192 convictions related to mail theft and identity theft, which is often the result of a mailbox break-in. Nationally, volume mail thefts were down 12 percent from the previous year.