(NEWSnet/AP) — When the U.S. Postal Service lunched Project Safe Delivery in 2023, officials pledged they would be “doubling down” on efforts to combat a growing rate of letter-carrier robberies.

The crackdown has led to hundreds of arrests, and robberies decreased toward the end of the year. But overall, the number of postal carriers who were robbed in 2023 rose again.

This week, legislation is being introduced in Congress to accelerate the replacement of tens of thousands of mailbox keys, boost prosecutions and review sentencing guidelines.

Postal carrier robberies climbed to 643 in 2023, an increase of nearly 30%, according to figures provided by U.S. Postal Inspection Service in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press.

Robberies grew sixfold over the past decade and the number of postal carriers held at gunpoint increased even more, according to an analysis of the postal statistics.

Under Project Safe Delivery, there have been more than 1,200 arrests for mail thefts and letter carrier robberies. Postal Inspection Service also conducted targeted law enforcement surges in trouble spots, including Chicago and San Francisco.

The effort also included deployment of more than 10,000 high-security blue boxes in high-risk locations, and installation of 30,000 electronic locks on mail receptacles.

This week, a bill is expected to be introduced in Congress to appropriate federal funding to help replace the antiquated keys with electronic versions that have no value to criminals, require all 93 U.S. attorneys to designate a prosecutor for postal crime, and to review sentencing guidelines for postal crimes, said Brian Renfroe, president of National Association of Letter Carriers.

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