USPS looks at security

Postal service improves lighting at Camp Hill Post Office after Harrelson murder

By Katie Cole (Contact) | Dadeville Record

Published Monday, November 23, 2009

Additional security measures are being added to the Camp Hill Post Office in the wake of the murder of a contract driver who was killed at the facility.

U.S. Postal Inspector Tony Robinson said the Camp Hill Post Office met all safety requirements, but lighting and other safety concerns have been evaluated and improved.

“The security measures they have in place we’re going to keep,” Robinson said. “They have sufficient lighting…By the time we’re done with it, there won’t be anything that is questionable as far as standards.”

Tony Harrelson, 46, a Royster Trucking driver from Dadeville, was shot and killed on duty at the Camp Hill Post Office between 5:45 and 6:15 p.m. on Oct. 2.

In the six weeks that have passed since Harrelson’s murder, his family members have questioned whether security cameras could have prevented the murder or assisted with the investigation.

”I’m very angry that there was no surveillance there and it was right beside the police department,” said Tracy Mitchell, Harrelson’s sister. “They could have already solved this case if there were already cameras in the front or the back or the parking lot.”

That’s not necessarily true, according to Robinson.

“If that was the case, every 7 - Eleven out there would be the safest place,” Robinson said. “The criminals adapt to that.”

Numerous studies have shown that cameras rarely deter criminals from committing a crime. Sometimes the cameras will force criminals to avoid an area, but they typically return, usually wearing some sort of mask, according to Robinson.

Camera systems also present problems because they need constant monitoring and maintenance to be truly effective.

Cameras can help identify a suspect after a crime has taken place, but not as often as people might think, Robinson said.

“If I have (video), I’m going to look at it,” Robinson said. “Even when we do have cameras, most of the cases are solved by the old-fashioned gumshoe investigator approach.”

That said, Robinson, who oversees security in the 600 post offices in Alabama, is considering placing inexpensive cameras in all of the buildings. Inexpensive camera systems are not usually admissible in court because their images are too easy to manipulate, but they could provide investigators with a springboard to develop a case.

Harrelson told his brother-in-law he was concerned about his safety at the Camp Hill and Montgomery post offices in the weeks before his murder, according to Mitchell. Harrelson allegedly requested patrols around the post office during his stop, but those patrols never took place.

“He requested that protection for some reason,” Mitchell said. “He had to have seen something or noticed something that wasn’t right.”

Neither Robinson nor Camp Hill Police Chief Roosevelt Finley were aware of Harrelson’s request, but the Camp Hill police have begun daily patrols by the post office, which is down the street from the police department.

“Every day that the postal truck is running, we are there,” Finley said.

Mitchell said the family is appreciative of the work law enforcement is doing to catch Harrelson’s killer, but they believe the area remains dangerous until that person is caught.

”I would like to have the person who killed my brother come to justice,” Mitchell said. “We can’t put our lives back together until we know what happened to him.”

---

WOULD YOU LIKE TO SHARE THIS STORY?

---