In alt.home.repair, on Mon, 13 Feb 2017 22:19:39 -0000, "James Wilkinson
Sword" wrote:

I was just watching an American film and thought, "Why don't kids steal everyone's mail?" In the UK, most people have the mailbox INSIDE the house (or simply a letterbox opening in the front door). Surely kids are tempted to nick American mail, especially as it's right on the street.

Not enought time to read the whole thread, so maybe someone already said
this.

I was a mailman for part of a summer in 1966, and got a week's training
first. They knew I would likely have a different route most days.

They told me never to give the mail to the person, because once in a
while someone will take mail for someone he is not. And to be sure to
put it in the box. There were a mixture of apartments and houses on the
route and most houses had exterior boxes. He said it was illegal to
take mail from mailboxes (Maybe that just means the ones that have U.S.
Mail embossed on them, but maybe it's any box set up to be used by the
mailman.)

They do make boxes that lock and have slots to put in the mail, and I'm
seen hundreds of them but none have ever had a lock on it.

Anyhow, I'm 70 years old and I've never heard of kids anywhere stealing
mail from boxes for fun, but there have been quite a few cases (1000's
out of 1000's of millions checks delivered) when probably adult knew
when welfare or social security checks would be delivered and they were
stolen and fenced.

That's why the SSA pushed direct deposit, and 2 or 3 years insisted on
it. No more checks in the mail. Welfare departments have issues
credit-card-like cards that they recharge, so no more check in the mail.
I can't think of any weekly or monthly check that comes in the mail for
any large group of people.

Most of the mailmen that have had my route over the last 33 years have
given me the mail directly even when I was off my property, because
they've met me.

And I have a slot in the door becuase the previous owner put it in, but
it's wonderful. Not becuase of thett but because I can go away for 2
months without cancelling the mail. I just have to push the door a bit
when I get home. Actually I think I could go away for a year and could
still push my way into the house.