Postal Police Officers must be utilized to prevent postal-related crimes, minimizing the need for the costly USPIS investigations, the author says. Image: Ceri Breeze/Shutterstock.com
By: Frank Albergo, Postal Police Officers AssociationThe U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) is often heralded as the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the country, tasked with protecting the Postal Service, its employees, and its customers. While its mission may sound noble, a closer examination reveals that the Inspection Service has a long and troubled history of waste and abuse, which has led to its inevitable failure.
To carry out its mission, the Inspection Service employs uniformed Postal Police Officers and plainclothes Postal Inspectors. Unfortunately, the current structure of the Inspection Service — where Postal Inspectors outnumber lower-paid Postal Police Officers by a 3 to 1 margin — is a relic of a bygone era.
Nearly all of the investigative functions conducted by Postal Inspectors have been rendered redundant by other federal agencies and the rise of digital technology. Consequently, the Postal Service is wasting hundreds of millions of dollars by allowing the Inspection Service to misallocate resources to investigate crime rather than prevent it.
By restructuring the Inspection Service and consolidating its investigative responsibilities into other law enforcement agencies, the U.S. Government could improve efficiency, reduce bureaucratic overlap, and focus on addressing the challenges of a modern-day Postal Service. Next, the Postal Police Force must be fully restored and then Postal Police Officers must be utilized in the most cost-efficient and effective manner possible to prevent postal-related crimes, thereby minimizing the need for the costly USPIS investigations which remain.
In short, the Inspection Service has shown it cannot effectively safeguard the Postal Service without a fully operational Postal Police Force. This is not hyperbole, but fact. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, USPIS had a budget of $584 million dollars. Here is what over half a billion dollars of postal revenue achieved after the Postal Police Force was benched in the summer of 2020:
- Robberies of Letter Carriers surged by 845% from FY 2019 to FY 2023.
- Mail theft complaints soared by 327% from FY 2018 to FY 2023.
- High-volume mail theft attacks — where criminals target blue collection boxes, cluster boxes, apartment panels and USPS delivery vehicles to steal vast quantities of mail — surged by 139% from FY 2019 to FY 2023.
In contrast, during FY 2010 — when Postal Police Officers were still allowed to do their jobs — there were only 2,251 high-volume mail theft attacks. By FY 2023, the number had surged to 49,156 attacks, representing a staggering 2083% explosion in high-volume mail theft attacks. (No, a 2083% explosion is not a typo.)
What Went Wrong?
Although it is impossible to pinpoint the exact year when the extreme waste and abuse of the Inspection Service began — 1987 is a good starting point. In 1987, it was discovered that the Inspection Service was arresting innocent postal workers on trumped-up drug charges in order to pad its arrest statistics. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge called the USPIS drug sting “one of the lousiest jobs of investigation I ever heard of in my life.” In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Judge Philip F. Jones expanded on his remarks, calling USPIS investigations “amateurish” and “a mess.” “I won’t call it a comedy of errors because it isn’t funny,” the Superior Court Judge quipped.
In 1992, after an additional 19 innocent postal workers were arrested by Postal Inspectors who were duped by paid informants, Congressman William Clay, the Chairman of the House Post Office and Civil Service Committee, condemned the arrests as “the most egregious abuse of power.” Congressman Clay, in disbelief, added, “What is purported to be a top-flight, professional law enforcement organization is revealed as a gang of undisciplined yahoos, out of control . . . Not only were their actions outside the bounds of decency, but somewhere outside the limit of law.”
In 1994, at the request of Congress, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released an audit report titled, “U.S. Postal Service Drug Investigations Data” (GAO/GGD-95-29FS) which revealed that out of the hundreds of innocent postal employees accused of criminal misconduct — black males (including a few Postal Police Officers) were disproportionately targeted by the Inspection Service.
In 1996, following years of USPIS malfeasance — and apparent racial discrimination — the GAO released an audit report titled, “A Comparison of Activities of the Postal IG and other IG’s” (GAO/AIMD-96-150). The GAO determined that independent oversight of USPIS law enforcement operations was critical. The GAO recommended the establishment of an independent USPS Office of Inspector General (USPS OIG) to oversee the Inspection Service.
Undeterred by its own corruption — and despite the GAO’s findings — the Inspection Service vehemently opposed the creation of an independent USPS OIG going as far as to illegally lobby against it (allegedly). Fortunately, Congress would not have it, and in September of 1996, passed legislation that created the USPS OIG. Through its investigations, audits, and research, the USPS OIG was intended to ensure the accountability and transparency of USPIS operations to protect against fraud, waste, and abuse.
In 2000, the newly created USPS OIG audited the “Inspection Service Budget Process” (Report Number OV-AR-00-005) and revealed that:
“Inspection Service management did not establish a process to determine annually whether the Inspection Service was operating under the appropriate staffing levels and mixture of positions, and whether staff was appropriately allocated among the headquarters and field operating units.”
The OIG continued:
“Significant changes have occurred that should have impacted Inspection Service personnel requirements and allocations resulting in the need for redeployment of personnel, such as: Creation of the Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG). The creation of the Postal Service OIG in 1997 resulted in a redesignation of selected investigative functions from the Inspection Service to the OIG. In addition, Inspection Service management decided to divest the Inspection Service of all audit functions. These audit functions were subsequently transferred to the OIG. Although Inspection Service management agreed to reduce positions due to the creation of the OIG and divestiture of their audit function, Inspection Service management has not conducted a study to reassess their staffing requirements since 1994, three years before the OIG was created.”
In 2003 — a full six years after the USPS OIG was created — the OIG discovered the exact same failure when it released audit report, “Postal Inspection Service Law Enforcement Staffing Requirements.” The OIG reiterated that USPIS “did not have a formal internal process for determining its overall staffing complement.”
The OIG recommended that the Postal Service “ensure audits and assessments of the overall staffing complement and mix of positions of the Postal Inspection Service are conducted on a periodic basis to evaluate the effectiveness of approved staffing.”
Remarkably, the Postal Inspection Service “disagreed” with the OIG’s commonsense recommendations and continued on its merry way of wasting money.
In 2006, the USPS Board of Governors approved the transition of ALL internal investigations from the Inspection Service to the USPS OIG. The OIG performed these functions with fewer people and at a lower cost.
In effect, half of the work (i.e., audits and internal investigations) that were once performed by Postal Inspectors were now being performed by OIG Special Agents.
How did this dramatic transfer of work affect Postal Inspector staffing levels?
Short answer — it didn’t. The authorized complement of Postal Inspectors decreased by a paltry 11.7% from 1,990 in FY 2006 to 1,758 in FY 2007. Remarkably, ALL of the eliminated postal inspector positions were vacant and therefore, the onboard complement of Postal Inspectors remained unchanged.
Although the transfer of postal inspector work to the OIG had no operational impact on the Postal Police Force — the authorized complement of Postal Police Officers was gutted by 36.5% from 1,303 in FY 2006 to 828 in FY 2007. This reduction in force was done despite the fact that PPOs were proven to be the most effective tool to combat postal-related crime. After all, the Inspection Service had to show some cost savings after its investigative workload was cut in half — even if it was at the expense of fulfilling its stated mission.
In 2007, the OIG issued an audit report which assessed the USPIS initiatives that followed the creation of the USPS OIG “to determine whether appropriate savings were captured.” To no one’s surprise, the OIG found that:
“The Postal Inspection Service did not realize all budget or staffing level reductions that should have resulted from Postal Service budget cuts, the transition of work to the OIG, and the reorganization to eliminate redundant functions.”
In 2007, the Postal Service complained to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC Project No. P071200) that “the Inspection Service was assigned to address matters that go beyond the safety and security of the mail. These often include pursuing child pornography, much of which has now moved to the Internet, securities fraud investigations, and identity theft.”
In 2009, the Postal Service commissioned and financed an independent mission review — the results of which the Inspection Service subsequently ignored. The independent mission review found that USPIS should “undertake a comprehensive assessment of its current allocation of resources among its divisions” and “re-assess resource allocation, to include an examination of staffing ratios and management staffing and implement a better resource management process.”
Specifically, Giuliani Security & Safety LLC (GSS) identified a broad array of functions that Postal Inspectors should not perform. GSS determined that nearly 40 percent of Postal Inspection Service investigations are not aligned with the needs of the Postal Service. These include investigations in mail fraud, money laundering, identity theft, child pornography, and administrative investigations. GSS recommended that USPIS clearly align priorities, including identifying programs that have a substantial connection to the mail.
GSS warned, “the USPIS must focus on ensuring the optimal balance between its corporate security and law enforcement roles and remain ever cognizant that it is not an independent agency, but rather an integral part of the USPS whose primary obligation is to support the needs of the USPS.”
GSS went as far as to recommend that the Postal Service amend the USPIS mission statement. The suggested language read:
“The mission of the United States Postal Inspection Service is to support the U.S. Postal Service by protecting its people and assets; securing the nation’s mail system and ensuring public trust in the mail.”
Notice, the USPIS mission should be one of protection, not necessarily investigation.
In 2011, the GSS findings were cited and throughly endorsed by the OIG in audit report, “New Approaches to Reduce Costs.” The OIG reiterated that the Inspection Service must “clearly align priorities, including identifying programs that have a substantial connection to the mail.”
More specifically, the OIG found:
“The Postal Inspection Service conducts investigations that are not inherently related to Postal Service operations or mission. We found that more than 34 percent of investigative activities do not directly support protection of Postal Service assets, Postal Service employees, or the mail system. Further, by pursuing work outside of these core areas, the Postal Inspection Service has moved away from its primary responsibility to protect the Postal Service, secure the nation’s mail system and ensure public trust in the mail. These non-postal investigative activities involve areas where other agencies have primary jurisdiction; the casework benefits all Americans, not solely postal ratepayers; or the work does not align with the mission of the Postal Service. Eliminating these activities could realize annual cost savings of $77 million or $766 million over the next 10 years.” (An over one BILLION dollars of savings when adjusted for inflation.)
The OIG continued:
“The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (OIG) has informally communicated this concern to the Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service in the past. However, the Postal Inspection Service has continued to conduct these investigations. One alternative the postmaster general should consider is combining all investigative activities of the Postal Inspection Service and OIG into one organization that only conducts investigations that are inherently related to Postal Service mission and operations. […] Further, merging some overlapping program areas, such as internal and external mail theft, could lead to more effective and cost-efficient investigations. Finally, if consolidated, the combined organization would conduct investigations that are inherently related to Postal Service operations and missions. Thus, the consolidation could realize an additional annual cost savings of $15 million or $146 million over the next 10 years.” (Over a $200 Million dollar savings when adjusted for inflation.)
In a “sleight of hand move” — typical of a federal agency trying to protect its bloated budget — USPIS changed its mission statement without changing the way it operates. Put another way, the Inspection Service once again ignored the recommendations of the OIG and instead insisted on wasting money.
USPIS Waste and Abuse Continues
In 2023, the USPS OIG released an audit report which evaluated the Postal Inspection Service’s response to the unprecedented surge in postal-related street crime. The OIG found that the Inspection Service:
- Did not have deployment timelines with actionable milestones for mail theft prevention and letter carrier protection initiatives.
- Lacked accountability for USPS arrow keys, which are often the target in letter carrier robberies.
- Did not finalize a mail theft strategy.
- Did not assess or assign resources nationally to address mail theft.
- Did not have specialized training in the investigation of mail theft.
- Assigned only 37% of Postal Inspectors to work mail theft cases in FY 2022.
- Did not even know the purpose of its Mail Theft Analytics Program and only devoted a “minuscule fraction” of its overall Analytic Program [formerly known as “iCOP” – a controversial USPIS spy program] to mail theft.
A year later, the GAO audited the Inspection Service and found similar deficiencies. Indeed, nearly two and a half decades after the OIG initially revealed that the Inspection Service lacked the necessary processes to determine “staffing levels and mixture of positions” — the GAO uncovered the same persistent defect. More specifically, in 2024, the GAO issued an audit report which revealed that USPIS does not have processes in place to determine its law-enforcement staffing needs leaving the Postal Service exposed to criminal attack.
Indeed, the GAO found that the number of serious postal crimes — including burglaries, robberies, assaults, and homicides — increased almost every fiscal year between 2017 and 2023. The GAO said, “We chose 2017 because it captured case data before the Inspection Service issued a 2020 memo on postal police work occurring off USPS property.”
Here, the GAO is referencing the internal memo wherein the Inspection Service decreed that “Postal Police Officers may not exercise law enforcement authority in contexts unrelated to Postal Service premises.” In effect, the Inspection Service banned all postal police street patrols meant to prevent mail theft and protect vulnerable letter carriers. In so doing, 50 years of postal police operational history was erased with the stroke of a pen. Inexplicably, the Inspection Service decided to bench the Postal Police Force during the worst postal crime wave in American history.
The GAO also found that an “analysis of the Inspection Service’s case data found that the number of serious crime cases occurring off USPS property increased significantly compared to on-property crime.”
The GAO added:
“Prior to 2020, Inspection Service divisions could assign postal police to patrols along carrier routes. For example, officials from another division we interviewed told us their postal police officers conducted targeted patrols along carrier routes where robberies had previously occurred or where crime was generally more prevalent.”
The GAO revealed that:
“The size and placement of the postal police workforce at USPS facilities in fiscal year 2023 relied on the 2011 assessment. Inspection Service officials told us that the primary goal of the 2011 assessment was to meet a USPS deadline to reduce the number of authorized postal police.”
The GAO concluded that:
“USPS’s ability to meet its universal service obligation is due in large part to the efforts of its letter carriers delivering mail across the country, and their ability to do so safely. Given the recent upward trend in serious crime against USPS employees and property, ensuring that the Inspection Service aligns its law enforcement resources with security needs is increasingly important. . . fully documenting its processes for determining the size and location of its postal police workforce, including the factors considered in that process, would provide some assurances that decisions made aligned with agency needs.”
In other words — and consistent with the findings of the OIG and GSS — the size and responsibilities of the Postal Police Force are not based upon the law-enforcement needs of the Postal Service. As the GAO found, the law-enforcement needs of the Postal Service have shifted from postal facilities to letter carrier routes, while the Inspection Service has shifted the duties and responsibilities of the Postal Police Force from letter carrier routes to postal facilities. Evidently — to the detriment of the Postal Service — the Inspection Service prefers investigating crime rather than preventing it.
The U.S. Postal Service must be protected
The Postal Service is a beloved institution because it has long been a symbol of reliability, service, and community connection. For over two centuries, it has provided an essential public service, ensuring that Americans — regardless of location or income — can send and receive mail and packages affordably. Unlike private delivery companies, USPS serves every address in the country, from urban centers to the most remote rural areas, often acting as a lifeline for those who rely on it for medications, government documents, and personal correspondence.
The Postal Service is also a critical component of America’s national security. By delivering ballots and election materials, protecting sensitive communications, aiding with emergency preparedness, and ensuring economic stability, the Postal Service plays an essential role in safeguarding the country’s infrastructure and resilience. Despite financial and operational challenges, the Postal Service remains a cherished part of American life, representing both tradition and a fundamental right to communication and commerce.
And yet — looming underneath it all — is the Postal Inspection Service with its pervasive waste and abuse. If that’s not worthy of America’s attention, then what is?
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