By GABE JORDAN

gabe.jordan@gaflnews.com

CORDELE — A recent spate of mailbox vandalism has local deputies and investigators on increased patrols to help stem the tide and catch any offenders.

Crisp County Sheriff Donnie Haralson is asking anyone with information about the mailbox bashers to contact his office at 229-276-2600.

“We’ve had several reports of mailbox destruction in the Lake Blackshear area in the past few weeks,” Haralson said. “The offenders are often young people who are bored and looking for something to do, but they don’t realize they are committing a federal offense.”

Mailboxes are normally posted in a person’s yard or on the right-of-way in front of a house, but the mailboxes themselves are technically federal property. Vandals who are caught destroying or tampering with mailboxes can be charged and prosecuted with destruction of federal property, with violators facing up to three years imprisonment and up to $250,000 in fines for each mailbox vandalized.

Haralson said mailboxes in rural areas are more likely to be vandalized.

“Rural areas don’t see a lot of traffic at night, so there aren’t many potential witnesses to mailbox bashing or other types of vandalism,” Haralson said. “If it isn’t mailboxes, it seems that people are going after political signs, and I want folks to know the theft or destruction of campaign signs is another crime we take seriously.”

Haralson also said citizens who have been victims of mailbox destruction or sign theft — or if they witness suspicious activity related to these or any other crimes — should not hesitate to contact authorities or to call 911.