Postman jailed for mail thefts (From Daily Echo)
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Postman jailed for mail thefts
7:00am Thursday 12th July 2012 in Crime
By John Hoskins, Court Reporter
Postman jailed for mail thefts
POLICE stopped a postman outside a pub on suspicion of drink-driving and discovered 40 franked and stamped postal packets in the boot of his car, Southampton Crown Court heard.
When Craig Priddey was questioned outside the New Forest pub, his wallet was found to contain two cheques from cheque books which he should have delivered on his rounds, said prosecutor Lawrence Henderson.
One cheque had been made out to himself for £175, and the other for £190 had been written in favour of another man to cover a debt over a holiday in Spain.
Priddey, 32, of Cullwood Lane, New Milton, admitted theft and delaying post in the course of transmission.
Jailing him for four months, Judge Peter Henry said postal workers were in a particularly high degree of trust and owed a debt to society.
He said: “The public have a right to expect mail to be safely and securely delivered.”
He accepted that the offences were particularly unsophisticated and not thought through, but he added: “Public policy must dictate that people who steal from the mail face a custodial sentence and there has to be a deterrent element in such a sentence.”
In mitigation, Tim Compton said that the offences were unsophisticated, had not been committed over a lengthy period of time, and Priddey had not gained anything.
He said: “He has lost his job and deservedly so. If he is sent to prison, he has nobody to blame but himself.”
Comments(27)
espanuel
says...
7:36am Thu 12 Jul 12
sarfhamton
says...
7:51am Thu 12 Jul 12
kissmya%%
says...
8:00am Thu 12 Jul 12
loosehead
says...
8:06am Thu 12 Jul 12
you have to sign a paper as if you were in the armed forces if you take the mail home or fail to deliver it you are breaking the law.
if you open it or say throw it in the bin you face an immediate prison sentence as your interrupting Her Majesties Mail so this guy wasn't just a tea leaf he was also breaking a much more serious law
loosehead
says...
8:08am Thu 12 Jul 12
sarfhamton wrote:have you not noticed when someone does wrong the old claim is "I was drinking" that excuse is to easy to use & I can't believe people still fall for it
Sounds like a sad case of someone with an addiction. Prison should be punishment but hopefully he will also get some help with the booze.
Georgem
says...
8:23am Thu 12 Jul 12
mansak_hunt
says...
8:48am Thu 12 Jul 12
loosehead wrote:Why do you think that he has an alcohol addiction when it doesn't say he was guilty of drink driving, or that he spent the money on booze?
sarfhamton wrote:have you not noticed when someone does wrong the old claim is "I was drinking" that excuse is to easy to use & I can't believe people still fall for it
Sounds like a sad case of someone with an addiction. Prison should be punishment but hopefully he will also get some help with the booze.
His lawyer did not mention any alcoholism in mitigation (which they nearly always would do in such cases)?
Having had mail stolen previously on more than one occasion I am not suprised to read this.
Some folk are greedy and lazy and just want a quick buck.
Shame on him.
chunky_lover
says...
8:57am Thu 12 Jul 12
espanuel wrote:Then, you should also should be jailed for having cheque books. Get with the times, man.
I do so what is the problem, and secondly he was in a job that had a lot of responsibilty in delivering Royal Mail. If he had needed help ASK.
Georgem
says...
8:57am Thu 12 Jul 12
mansak_hunt wrote:Presumably because he was stopped outside a pub. After all, only hopeless alcoholics go to pubs. Or something.
loosehead wrote:Why do you think that he has an alcohol addiction when it doesn't say he was guilty of drink driving, or that he spent the money on booze?
sarfhamton wrote:have you not noticed when someone does wrong the old claim is "I was drinking" that excuse is to easy to use & I can't believe people still fall for it
Sounds like a sad case of someone with an addiction. Prison should be punishment but hopefully he will also get some help with the booze.
His lawyer did not mention any alcoholism in mitigation (which they nearly always would do in such cases)?
Having had mail stolen previously on more than one occasion I am not suprised to read this.
Some folk are greedy and lazy and just want a quick buck.
Shame on him.
yellowcard
says...
9:22am Thu 12 Jul 12
Georgem
says...
10:25am Thu 12 Jul 12
chunky_lover wrote:A lot of businesses still use cheques extensively. A lot of government still use cheques. Had a tax rebate recently? That'll be a cheque, then. Presumably you wouldn't bother paying yours in, because, y'know, get with the times.
espanuel wrote:Then, you should also should be jailed for having cheque books. Get with the times, man.
I do so what is the problem, and secondly he was in a job that had a lot of responsibilty in delivering Royal Mail. If he had needed help ASK.
Mrs Justice
says...
11:08am Thu 12 Jul 12
Royal Mail are not reliable anymore. They rip you off when they can to. They have done with me. They wonder why we are sending emails now, or using couriers more. As they make mistakes, we don't use the service, as we don't use the service as much, the price of stamp goes up. So we pay for their mistakes in the long run anyway, not the Royal Mail!
southy
says...
11:09am Thu 12 Jul 12
yellowcard wrote:hummm no there was a law change some time back giving the police the power to stop and search in any public place.
IF he had not failed the first breath test outside the pub the police would not have had a reason to search his wallet or car to then discover the cheques and then the mail in his boot.
Georgem
says...
11:29am Thu 12 Jul 12
southy wrote:Right. Yellowcard's point is not that they COULDN'T stop and search him, but that they almost certainly WOULDN'T have.
yellowcard wrote:hummm no there was a law change some time back giving the police the power to stop and search in any public place.
IF he had not failed the first breath test outside the pub the police would not have had a reason to search his wallet or car to then discover the cheques and then the mail in his boot.
I think it's time you stopped telling everyone they're wrong all the time.
Mr E
says...
12:20pm Thu 12 Jul 12
I have had several letters disappear in recent months and when I complain They just don't seem interested and fob me off with lame excuses.
Georgem
says...
12:32pm Thu 12 Jul 12
Mr E wrote:True. There's no such thing as "lost in the post". Someone's nicked it or thrown it away to avoid delivering it. Things simply going missing, and it not being actually caused by anything, defies the first law of thermodynamics.
Royal Mail need to take missing post a LOT more seriously.
I have had several letters disappear in recent months and when I complain They just don't seem interested and fob me off with lame excuses.
Niel
says...
1:27pm Thu 12 Jul 12
mansak_hunt wrote:Postal workers were 2nd only to Police officers when it came to alcoholism when I worked there, not sure the figures are the same now, as a LOT of postal staff are only short term 'contract' employee's. The theft of mail problem is much worse in London, where organized gang's steal credit cards etc and ship them abroad to be abused, needless to say if the supervisor only speaks English they have no idea what is being arranged by those around them.
loosehead wrote:Why do you think that he has an alcohol addiction when it doesn't say he was guilty of drink driving, or that he spent the money on booze?
sarfhamton wrote:have you not noticed when someone does wrong the old claim is "I was drinking" that excuse is to easy to use & I can't believe people still fall for it
Sounds like a sad case of someone with an addiction. Prison should be punishment but hopefully he will also get some help with the booze.
His lawyer did not mention any alcoholism in mitigation (which they nearly always would do in such cases)?
Having had mail stolen previously on more than one occasion I am not suprised to read this.
Some folk are greedy and lazy and just want a quick buck.
Shame on him.
I.B. doesn't seem able, or willing, to do much about it either...
That said we had a £23K slab of gold arrive through the post in a jiffy bag at work this week, just std. first class!
Lone Ranger.
says...
1:55pm Thu 12 Jul 12
Mrs Justice wrote:All companies make mistakes .... some bigger than others ..... But ......... even with the price increase who can i use to send a 10 page document of substance for £1.70p and get it signed for the very next day in Edinburgh.
Noooo don't send him to prison, give him a 2million pay off like Diamond got!!!...what is this country coming to.
Royal Mail are not reliable anymore. They rip you off when they can to. They have done with me. They wonder why we are sending emails now, or using couriers more. As they make mistakes, we don't use the service, as we don't use the service as much, the price of stamp goes up. So we pay for their mistakes in the long run anyway, not the Royal Mail!
.
Royal Mail is still great value for money
Georgem
says...
2:14pm Thu 12 Jul 12
Lone Ranger. wrote:You can't even use the Royal Mail for that. For that price, you'll get recorded delivery, but it won't be next day. Sure, it MIGHT turn up the next day, but to guarantee it, you're looking at over a fiver. At that point, DHL are competitive on price, and more reliable.
Mrs Justice wrote:All companies make mistakes .... some bigger than others ..... But ......... even with the price increase who can i use to send a 10 page document of substance for £1.70p and get it signed for the very next day in Edinburgh.
Noooo don't send him to prison, give him a 2million pay off like Diamond got!!!...what is this country coming to.
Royal Mail are not reliable anymore. They rip you off when they can to. They have done with me. They wonder why we are sending emails now, or using couriers more. As they make mistakes, we don't use the service, as we don't use the service as much, the price of stamp goes up. So we pay for their mistakes in the long run anyway, not the Royal Mail!
.
Royal Mail is still great value for money
But yeh I agree, the Royal Mail still can't be beaten on their lower-end services.
Sir Ad E Noid
says...
2:18pm Thu 12 Jul 12
chunky_lover wrote:Yes, you are indeed weird. I have a cheque book and still use it for various transactions. You need help.
chap most likely needs help, rather than just punishing. who on earth has a cheque book anyway these days? weird...
Lone Ranger.
says...
2:27pm Thu 12 Jul 12
Georgem wrote:Thanks ..... never used DHL but will give them a try. No RM didnt guarantee next day, but it did arrive then.
Lone Ranger. wrote:You can't even use the Royal Mail for that. For that price, you'll get recorded delivery, but it won't be next day. Sure, it MIGHT turn up the next day, but to guarantee it, you're looking at over a fiver. At that point, DHL are competitive on price, and more reliable.
Mrs Justice wrote:All companies make mistakes .... some bigger than others ..... But ......... even with the price increase who can i use to send a 10 page document of substance for £1.70p and get it signed for the very next day in Edinburgh.
Noooo don't send him to prison, give him a 2million pay off like Diamond got!!!...what is this country coming to.
Royal Mail are not reliable anymore. They rip you off when they can to. They have done with me. They wonder why we are sending emails now, or using couriers more. As they make mistakes, we don't use the service, as we don't use the service as much, the price of stamp goes up. So we pay for their mistakes in the long run anyway, not the Royal Mail!
.
Royal Mail is still great value for money
But yeh I agree, the Royal Mail still can't be beaten on their lower-end services.
.
loosehead
says...
3:16pm Thu 12 Jul 12
mansak_hunt wrote:mansak I was replying to sarfhampton who mentioned he needed help with the booze.
loosehead wrote:Why do you think that he has an alcohol addiction when it doesn't say he was guilty of drink driving, or that he spent the money on booze?
sarfhamton wrote:have you not noticed when someone does wrong the old claim is "I was drinking" that excuse is to easy to use & I can't believe people still fall for it
Sounds like a sad case of someone with an addiction. Prison should be punishment but hopefully he will also get some help with the booze.
His lawyer did not mention any alcoholism in mitigation (which they nearly always would do in such cases)?
Having had mail stolen previously on more than one occasion I am not suprised to read this.
Some folk are greedy and lazy and just want a quick buck.
Shame on him.
I don't know the guy so I wouldn't know if he had a drink problem.or was using drink as an excuse to commit a crime
Fatty x Ford Worker
says...
4:17pm Thu 12 Jul 12
epiphany
says...
7:34pm Thu 12 Jul 12
OSPREYSAINT
says...
2:02am Fri 13 Jul 12
andysaints007
says...
12:26pm Fri 13 Jul 12
Georgem wrote:PMSL what a great response Georgem - something tells me Chunkey Lover won't be commenting on this any more! lol
chunky_lover wrote:A lot of businesses still use cheques extensively. A lot of government still use cheques. Had a tax rebate recently? That'll be a cheque, then. Presumably you wouldn't bother paying yours in, because, y'know, get with the times.
espanuel wrote:Then, you should also should be jailed for having cheque books. Get with the times, man.
I do so what is the problem, and secondly he was in a job that had a lot of responsibilty in delivering Royal Mail. If he had needed help ASK.
chunky_lover says...
7:27am Thu 12 Jul 12