The Flagging Mailbox

The curbside mailbox--once the sole communications link for millions of American families and friends--is falling on hard times. Literally.

On suburban cul-de-sacs and rural highways, teens increasingly spend their Friday nights deforming the ubiquitous red-flagged, barn-shaped boxes with swings of baseball bats.

Beyond that, police and postal officials across the nation report a rash of thefts in which criminals grab checks, bank statements and other outgoing mail from boxes that have their tiny red flags raised.

“In the ‘Mayberry’ days, the red flag was great because it alerted the carrier that mail was ready for pickup,” said Gene Griffin, an Orange County postal inspector. “Now as we approach the year 2000, all the red flag does is tell the . . . [perpetrator] where his possible victims lie.”

So widespread is the destruction of the boxes that a booming industry has emerged: Nearly a dozen companies now produce high-security mailboxes, with names like Armadillo Enclosures and Vandalgard, that feature strong metal frames.

Although mail vandalism is usually associated with rural areas, it has also hit suburbia hard. The problem has been especially severe in housing developments built after about 1970, when the Postal Service halted door-to-door delivery and required that homeowners place their boxes along curbs so carriers could make their rounds more quickly.

Experts say mailbox vandalism, although minor compared to other crimes, shatters the sense of order and safety that draws people to suburban and rural communities. The new fortified, vandal-proof boxes, they say, underscore residents’ feelings of violation and vulnerability.

“For the people who are experiencing vandalism and robbery, it’s got to give them the sense that there’s no place that’s safe anymore, not even your mailbox in front of your own home,” said Mark Baldassare, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

“Receiving your mail delivered at your home is one of those basic tenets of civilized society,” he said.

Several Orange County neighborhoods were hit especially hard by vandalism this year. Dozens of curbside mailboxes were uprooted or knocked over during a five-week spree that ended in March when police arrested four teenagers.

Among the victims was Orange resident Frank Harlan, whose $160 wrought-iron mailbox was thrown through the rear window of his 1992 Dodge van parked in the family driveway.

“I couldn’t believe it happened in our neighborhood,” said the 58-year-old retired public works employee. “They were a bunch of kids with too much time on their hands. They had been in Mission Viejo and Lake Forest, and they worked their way up here.”

Vandalism Is Linked to a 1986 Movie

The Postal Service doesn’t keep detailed statistics on mailbox vandalism, but the bashing has become a persistent problem--with teens turning increasingly destructive. It’s not unusual for vandals to smash dozens of boxes in one outing.

Reports of increased vandalism occur whenever the 1986 film “Stand By Me” is aired on television.

“You can tell when the movie has recently played,” said P.J. Farmer, an Indianapolis postal inspector. “There’s a section in the film that features what they call ‘mailbox baseball.’ The characters are driving down the street taking swings at the mailboxes as they go along. So it kind of plants the seed.”

The vandalism often comes in spurts, with homeowners awakening to see boxes along their entire block disfigured or bashed off their stands. It adds up to tens of thousands of bashings a year, officials estimate.

“Basically, it tends to increase in June after graduation and holidays like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve,” said Randy DeGasperin, postal inspector supervisor for Orange County.

It’s a federal felony to steal or destroy mail during a bashing, and postal inspectors offer rewards of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of vandals and thieves.

But authorities acknowledge that catching vandals is difficult. Few late-night attacks are witnessed, and many aren’t even reported. Most police agencies lack the resources to aggressively investigate such cases. Often, it’s up to homeowners to keep an eye out.

“Sometimes, local residents get so involved they will actually videotape the vandals, which of course is excellent evidence,” said Pamela Prince, spokeswoman for the Southern California division of the Postal Inspection Service. “Usually after the subjects are apprehended, the mailbox bashing immediately stops. If it’s happening in one area, generally it’s the same group.”

Lawmakers in Oregon are considering a bill making it a felony to steal or destroy mail or damage mailboxes. Punishment could be up to five years in prison.

They approved a similar bill overwhelmingly in 1997, but it was vetoed by Gov. John Kitzhaber, who said he was concerned about the added costs of prosecution. Both bills were sponsored by state Sen. Eileen Qutub.

“The U.S. postal authorities, because of limited resources, can’t focus on every little thing,” said Michelle Lowry, Qutub’s legislative assistant, adding that the proposed law would give local police concurrent jurisdiction over such cases.

Hank and Marty Court, who live in Bend, are pushing hard to pass the Oregon bill. The couple became incensed after vandals repeatedly smashed their handcrafted mailbox, featured two years ago in “Mailboxes America,” a coffee-table book of 100 distinctive mailboxes from across the United States.

The mailbox itself is in the shape of a horse and was made with horsehair. Next to it is a life-size statue of a man who appears to be riding a potato digger attached to the box by ropes.

The mailbox “is kind of pretty, and people use it as a landmark,” Hank Court said.

Instead of waiting for tough vandalism laws, many homeowners are turning to companies that sell tamper-resistant mailboxes. That’s especially true for people looking for replacements for their smashed boxes.

Most manufacturers are small, often situated in areas targeted by bashers. One is Escondido resident Gary Taylor, who said he started Armadillo Enclosures Inc. two years ago after his family fell victim to mail thieves and vandals.

“Somebody stole my daughter’s Visa checks and forged them,” Taylor said. “She was lucky because it was only $50. My neighbors had their mail stolen, and my mail was stolen and torn up. I said, ‘I gotta do something.’ ”

Taylor, who is also a firefighter, seems intent on single-handedly preserving the old-fashioned red flag boxes with his patented design.

“To me, these mailboxes are like good American ice cream and apple pie,” Taylor said. “We keep the design of the old mailboxes the same, but we just make it safer.”

Taylor’s creation allows the mail to slide through a trapdoor into a locked compartment. The top part of the box resembles the classic arc-shaped mailboxes that stand along many roads across the country.

Some Boxes Can Take Shotgun Blast

Other boxes, however, are designed to look more like a fortress.

Vandalgard, of Cottage Grove, Ore., manufactures 12-gauge steel covers that fit any regular-size mailbox. Company President Bruce Elliot said the covers can “withstand any baseball bat or 12-gauge shotgun.”

Other boxes are more stylish, such as those sold by San Diego’s Gaines Manufacturing Inc., which has long produced high-end mailboxes for homes in affluent neighborhoods. About a year ago, the company branched out into security boxes with a stylish flair, selling for less than $200.

The mailboxes, made of aerospace-grade aluminum, have two doors: an unlocked one for the postal carrier’s drop and a locked door for the box owner to get the mail out.

“There’s a lot of mailboxes out there that are security-proof, but they are ugly,” said Ted Gaines, the company president. “What we did was make it completely secure but beautiful at the same time.”

Only a tiny fraction of the millions of boxes across the nation are so secure. Some postal inspectors and police agencies are urging residents not to leave outgoing mail in their boxes. Instead, they suggest using the local post office or nearest drop box.

Southland Residential Mail Crime Is on Rise Southern California postal officials said outgoing mail thefts have increased steadily over the past five years, and the crime even has its own street name: “flagging.”

Perpetrators range from organized rings that steal checks that are chemically altered before cashing, to drug addicts who steal mail to pay for a fix.

In Los Angeles County, a loosely knit gang of up to 15 vandals has been targeting residential mailboxes throughout Torrance, Redondo Beach, San Pedro, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach over the past year.

During another rash of thefts, the Costa Mesa Police Department received about 100 calls from residents saying their outgoing mail was stolen.

“I hope that we see an end to the red flag on the mailbox just because mail thieves too often target those boxes,” said the Postal Inspection Service’s Prince.

“Sometimes we find a car full of mail thieves who may go to a neighborhood, get out of a car and run in different directions up and down the street stealing mail as they go.

“The red flag being up is also a red flag to the thief, screaming ‘Steal me!’ ”

Jeff Chapman for years placed outgoing mail inside his Costa Mesa mailbox and raised the flag without another thought. Then, he realized that some of his letters were not arriving at their destinations. Around the same time, he said he noticed suspicious people loitering around his and his neighbors’ boxes.

“I just don’t think it’s safe,” said Chapman, as he dropped off some bills and a birthday card at the Santa Ana post office recently.