Officials: USPS carrier robbed of all-access arrow key in Hoboken

🔑 A postal carrier was robbed on Monday, according to officials

🔑 The key opens up mailboxes and collection boxes

🔑 The USPS has been working to phase out the keys

HOBOKEN — A U.S. Postal Service carrier was robbed of their "arrow key" during a robbery on Monday night, according to police.

City Spokeswoman Marci Rubin said the carrier was held up in the area of Constitution Court in The Sovereign high-rise apartment complex on the Hoboken waterfront around 8 p.m. Greg Kliemisch of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service said the carrier was on their route when thieves demanded the arrow key and ran off.

The carrier was not injured, according to Kliemisch.

An arrow key is a universal key used to open collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units, and apartment panels. According to the USPS, the key must be secured and attached to a carrier's belt or clothing by a chain while on duty and returned at the end of each day.

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Tips on protecting mail (US Postal Inspection Service)

Protecting postal carriers

Thieves with an arrow key can get their hands on checks, cash and credit cards that have been left for pickup. Kliemisch said the USPS has made progress to protect carriers from thieves and keep their routes secure with an initiative called Project Safe Delivery.

"Some of those initiatives include thousands of blue collection boxes have been replaced with a new high-security blue collection box. Tens of thousands of antiquated locks have been replaced with electronic mechanisms with more to come, essentially making keys ineffective," Kliemisch said. "These updated mechanisms have an electronic component, that thieves will be unable to duplicate, removing the very thing criminals are seeking in robberies of our letter carrier, their postal keys."

Over 2,000 arrests have been made nationwide between May 2023 and Sept. 2024 of people accused of taking arrow keys, according to Kliemisch.

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