Is It a Federal Crime to Put Graffiti on a Mailbox?
Choosing to deface a mailbox can get vandals time in jail and heavy fines. The U.S. Postal Service and federal law explicitly prohibit mailbox vandalism.
Other People Are Reading
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History
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In a June 2001 article in "The Atlantic Monthly" examining mailbox fortification, author Wayne Curtis notes that some blame the 1986 movie "Stand by Me" for "a surge in this form of vandalism." The movie features a scene in which teens play mailbox baseball, with a moving car as the batter's box and a mailbox as the fastball. However, Curtis concludes the movie is not to blame. Tom Boyle, a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, told Curtis mailbox vandalism has occurred "ever since there was a bat, a mailbox and a car."
Federal Law
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According to Title 18, Section 1705 of the U.S. Code, a collection of federal laws, "Whoever willfully or maliciously injures, tears down or destroys any letter box or other receptacle intended or used for the receipt or delivery of mail on any mail route, or breaks open the same or willfully or maliciously injures, defaces or destroys any mail deposited therein, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both."
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Prevention/Solution
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The U.S. Postal Inspection Service urges postal customers to report mail crimes immediately. Crimes include theft and tampering or destruction of mail or mailboxes. To report crimes, postal customers must complete a PS Form 1510, Mail Loss and Rifling Report, or a PS Form 2016, Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint. They can also attach to their mailbox a Label 33 sticker, which warns potential offenders that mailbox vandalism is a crime.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit mailbox image by palms from Fotolia.com
