RICHMOND, Va. — Holiday shipping and mailing season is in full swing, and USPS representatives say the postal service is going to be "faster" and "more efficient" than years prior.
“We’ve installed 506 new high-speed package sorting machines. 158 of those have been installed since last year, and that’s throughout the country," said USPS Communications Specialist Philip Bogenberger. "Our network can handle 60 million packages per day throughout the country."
According to USPS, if you want your mail to make it to its destination by Christmas, First Class Mail should be sent by December 18. Priority Mail should be sent by December 19. Priority Mail Express should be sent by December 21.
Bogenberger encourages anyone considering sending or receiving gifts through the mail to do so sooner, rather than later.
“We’re committed to getting every piece of mail and every package to our customers on time," Bogenberger said.
Virginia's mail service through USPS is now considered the eighth worst in the country by the USPS Office of the Inspector General. Virginia was considered the third worst earlier this year.
The US Postal Inspection Service said it's encouraging people to be cautious of their mail items by making sure packages are not left unattended, and any mail or packages needing to be delivered are done so directly at a post office branch.
“Take it inside the post office, hand it to a clerk at the post office, hand it to carrier whenever possible, that ensures that your mail piece or your package is in the US mail stream," said Michael J. Romano, a US Postal Inspector for the Richmond region.
Romano said customers should never leave packages unattended and utilize USPS's delivery options so that mail is not delivered and potentially left on someone's doorstep. Customers are encouraged to not send money or gift cards through the mail.
Romano said despite holiday scams targeted at customers, there is some positive news for those concerned they may become victims of mail theft.
"When we do get mail theft around the holidays, it ends up being isolated instances in given neighborhoods. Sometimes you have juveniles going through the mailboxes and stealing greeting guards, but overall, we don’t typically see just a wide array of package thefts" Romano said.
You can report a crime to the US Postal Inspection Service here or by calling 1-877-876-2455.
Internal mail theft is investigated by the Office of the Inspector General. To file a complaint about theft, fraud, or waste at a USPS facility or by a USPS employee, contact the USPS Office of the Inspector General at 1-888-877-7644.
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