Relatively few mail thefts have been reported this season around Central Point, says branch supervisor Howard Leachman. In other years, thefts have been reported from boxes along Old Stage Road and Old Military Road. Mail theft seems relatively rare at the southern end of Jackson County, says Dave Jack, of the Medford Post Office. Catching mail thieves is extremely difficult, says Jackson County Sheriff Sgt. People often don't report mail theft, and there's often no way to know mail has been stolen unless some of it is returned.
Postmasters say rural residents have several options for protecting their mail.
They can rent a post office box or install a heavy steel mailbox with a locking door. Gold Hill Postmaster Don Parent says more country folks are installing the hard-steel security boxes to discourage mail thieves. Each security strategy has a cost in convenience. Packages won't fit in the theft-proof boxes, and renting a post office box means an extra errand to collect the mail. If you install one of those boxes, you may be coming to town more than you had anticipated.