It's certainly not unusual to find an empty mailbox every now and then when you go to check your mail—and that's only gotten more likely thanks to policy changes and delivery delays. But at the end of the day, we all expect that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will get our mail delivered to us at some point. In some cases, however, there might be a larger problem at play. The USPS can suspend its service for a number of reasons, and some U.S. residents have just learned this the hard way. Read on to find out where the agency has halted deliveries, and what's behind the suspension.
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The USPS just suspended service for some Santa Monica, California residents.
ShutterstockThe Postal Service has halted its service for some residents in Santa Monica, California, CBS News reported on April 10. According to the news outlet, residents recently received notices from the USPS explaining that "delivery service is hereby suspended to all addresses located on the 13-hundred block of 14th street" in one Santa Monica neighborhood.
The residents were told that they have to go to their local post office to pick up their mail in person. But Clayton Canning, who lives in affected area, told CBS News that the postal agency has continued to deliver packages to residents in this area. "Since the suspension of daily mail has occurred, USPS still does come to our block—exclusive for delivering packages —no paper mail (or) envelopes, just packages," Canning said.
The agency said assaults on carriers prompted it to withdraw service to the area.
iStockAccording to CBS News, the postal agency's decision to suspend its service in the Santa Monica neighborhood follows several assaults on carriers delivering mail. The USPS notice said that "multiple carriers have been subjected to assaults and threats of assault from an individual who has not been located or apprehended," per the news outlet.
Only one carrier assault has officially been reported, according to the Santa Monica Police Department. On Jan. 19, a report was filed, indicating that a mail carrier had been attacked with a broomstick by a resident who lives near the intersection of 14th Street and Arizona Avenue. The department's public information officer told CBS News that the suspect in question was well known, and that they've had several issues with him in the past.
This is not the only reason the USPS might suspend service to residents.
iStockAccording to the Postal Service's website, mail service is always subject to suspension and withdrawal from any area. The agency confirms on its website that "delivery service may be suspended when there is an immediate threat to the delivery employee, mail security, or postal property."
This is hardly the only reason the USPS says it might stop delivering mail to a resident or series of residents in one neighborhood, however. The agency can also choose not to provide service to certain people due to blocked mailboxes, overflowing mailboxes, hazardous conditions, travel obstructions, and loose animals. It's important to note that the Postal Service "does not enter into decisions to suspend service lightly," it said in its letter to residents in the impacted Santa Monica neighborhood, per Fox 11 Los Angeles.
The USPS has not said when it will lift this suspension.
ShutterstockA few residents in the Santa Monica neighborhood have said that they are upset over the Postal Service's decision, especially since it appears that the actions of just one person prompted the suspension. "My immediate reaction was just disappointment ... frustration," resident Courtney Smith told CBS News.
According to news outlet, the USPS has not provided any information on when exactly it will end its suspension on mail service to the neighborhood. "The safety of our employees and of the mail they deliver to you is our highest concern. Until we can ensure the safety of both, delivery services will remain suspended," the agency stated in its notice, per Fox 11 Los Angeles.
And despite having its own law enforcement agency, the Postal Service has also not contacted Santa Monica Police in regards to the one carrier-attack report filed in January. "Not doing anything is not the solution," Smith said to CBS News.
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