Royal Mail ‘plans to cut parcel theft police’
Fears have been raised that Royal Mail parcels will be at increased risk from thieves after it emerged that the postal service is planning cuts to its “parcel police”. Sources said the Royal Mail’s investigations department, which catches thieves and fraudsters intercepting parcels and letters, is facing “massive” cuts. Campaigners warned of “shockingly high” rates of missing parcels at delivery companies including Royal Mail, urging it to take necessary steps to keep parcels safe.
FEARS that Royal Mail parcels will be at increased risk from thieves and ID fraudsters were sparked last night after it emerged that the postal service is planning cuts to its “parcel police”.
The Royal Mail’s investigations department, which catches thieves and fraudsters intercepting parcels and letters, is facing “massive job cuts”, sources told The Daily Telegraph.
It comes despite a 51 per cent rise in the number of complaints to Royal Mail about “disappearing parcels” over the past year, from 89,219 in 2016-17 to a record high of 134,712. The total number of complaints about the postal service also topped a million this year, having risen by a fifth over the past four years, up from 856,611 complaints annually.
Nationally, instances of ID fraud, when criminals steal victims’ details to impersonate them, are close to record highs. A string of job cuts in recent years has already led to a dramatic fall in crime detection by Royal Mail investigators, sources claimed.
In 2010, the department had a total of 257 staff, Freedom of Information Request documents show, but this number has since fallen by 40 per cent to 150 staff, Royal Mail admitted. A source claimed that the department is now about to “go through its biggest change ever, with massive job cuts”.
Last night consumer campaigners warned of “shockingly high” rates of missing parcels at delivery companies including Royal Mail, urging it to take necessary steps to keep parcels safe.
Alex Neill, director of home products and services at Which?, said: “With the growth in online shopping, delivery companies have become an essential – and often frustrating – part of our lives. People need to be confident that the delivery service responsible for their parcels has the resources and systems in place to ensure it is handled securely and arrives safely and on time.
“According to our research, one in five people had a parcel go missing in a single month last year – a shockingly high rate of failure by delivery companies, including Royal Mail, that urgently needs addressing.”
Sandra Peaston, director of strategy at fraud prevention organisation Cifas, said: “With more personal information available online, and increasing numbers of data breaches, the protection of personal data must be viewed as a collective responsibility.”
Royal Mail declined to comment on any future restructuring or job cuts but said that the security of the mail was of “paramount importance” to the company.
A spokesman said: “We make growing use of data analysis and intelligence-gathering capabilities. This is further improving our ability to identify and take action to rectify problems, should they arise, in a more focused way.”