Hillers were alarmed to find the mailbox out front of the Chestnut Hill Post Office unlocked and open last Tuesday morning, as pictured here. George Clark, Postal Inspector with the Philadelphia Division of the Postal Inspection Service, said that the incident is being investigated.

“In the meantime,” Clark said, “if any readers mailed items at the box on Monday evening, they might want to monitor their checks. If they are inclined, and out of an abundance of caution, they might want to notify their banks, cancel the checks, and resend new ones.”

Clark told the Local that he realizes Chestnut Hill residents “don’t feel like anything is happening” to combat issues of mail theft.

“I assure you and your readers that the Postal Inspection Service is working very hard - I guarantee harder than any other law enforcement agency in the city - to develop beyond a reasonable doubt evidence against perpetrators that are responsible for these crimes,” he said. “We are targeting people we believe are directing the activity. That takes a lot of time.”

Putting in less time, Clark explained, could result in arrests but no prosecution.

“We don’t make arrests simply to have them dropped by the prosecutor,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, that accomplishes nothing.”