A series of recent mail truck break-ins serves as a good reminder - that holiday theft season is here.

On Tuesday afternoon dispatchers received reports of a United State Postal Service (USPS) truck that was broken into at 42nd Avenue Southwest and Southwest Graham Street in West Seattle.

Officers arrived and contacted the mail carrier. The carrier said she was on foot, making deliveries just after 12:30 p.m., when someone broke into her locked truck.

The mail carrier said she was walking back to her delivery truck when she was approached by a man. The man told her he saw a woman remove two full trays of mail from inside of the truck then before driving away in a white SUV.

The carrier told police that there have been a series of these type of mail truck break-ins over the last few days. It is believed the suspect(s) have a key which allows them gain entry to the mail trucks. The suspect was not found in the area and is still outstanding.

Around the holiday season, we typically see an increase in mail & package thefts. To reduce your risk, we recommend the following prevention tips:

• Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery - https://www.usps.com/manage/informed-delivery.htm

• Track your mail and packages

• Arrange to have packages shipped to another location, where someone can receive it

• Require a signature upon delivery

• Pick up items from the carrier's local shipping facility

• If none of the above are viable options- at the very least, request packages be placed in a discrete location not visible from the street

Visit this page for more crime prevention suggestions: https://seattle.gov/police/crime-prevention/package-theft-prevention

If anyone has information about this crime or any other mail theft, please call Seattle Police Department at (206) 625-5011 or the United States Postal Inspection Service at (877) 876-2455.

Incident Number 24-340414/Southwest Precinct