Security and Safety

Opening quote: "The U.S. Postal Service places the highest priority on the safety of our customers and employees and on the security of the mail."
- Postmaster General John E. Potter

Security

United States Postal Inspectors are charged with ensuring the safety of postal employees, customers and assets. Using a combination of aggressive programs that target specific criminal activities and proven prevention strategies, Postal Inspectors offer a comprehensive approach to postal security, giving employees a safe work environment, reducing or eliminating criminal activity against the Postal Service and educating postal customers about mail-related crime.

Postal Inspectors address numerous problems related to the theft of mail from postal collection and relay boxes, neighborhood delivery and collection boxes and cluster box units by developing various security countermeasures. Several devices deployed during the past fiscal year have proven to be successful deterrents. Inspectors assisted in the installment of improved security devices at nine Postal Service districts, and the Postal Inspection Service is working closely with postal engineers to develop new versions of high-security mail collection and delivery equipment.

Integral to the security efforts of the Postal Inspection Service are the Postal Police Officers (PPOs) of the Security Force, which celebrated its 30th anniversary this past fiscal year. PPOs provide ongoing protection for postal employees and property by enforcing federal laws and regulations at postal facilities. Their presence serves as a key deterrent to assaults, maintaining an environment conducive to the safety and well-being of postal employees, customers and assets.

PPOs routinely provide perimeter security at high-risk areas and escort high-value mail shipments. In FY 2001, the Postal Inspection Service initiated a comprehensive review of Security Force operations and staffing nationwide. A final report will offer new recommendations for postal facilities to ensure sufficient security at sites with the highest risks.

Terrorism and Disaster Assistance

Postal Inspectors and PPOs have routinely assisted other law enforcement agencies in responding to terrorist acts in this country, and Postal Inspectors are assigned to FBI-sponsored counterterrorism task forces nationwide. Postal Inspectors also team with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Due to the Postal Service's extensive use of commercial airlines to transport mail, it is essential for Inspectors to work with the FAA to review practices and recommend procedures that will guard the safety of the traveling public.

In the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001, wreckage from the twin towers fell on the Church Street Postal Station, resulting in extensive damage to the top floors. Postal Inspectors and Postal Police Officers evacuated the station and led injured civilians and police officers to safety as glass and debris fell to the ground.

Postal Inspectors in Manhattan were deployed to emergency command centers established by the FBI and the mayor of New York, and additionally were assigned to bolster security at all postal facilities in Manhattan. Inspectors from nearby offices assisted with emergencies, and those from adjacent divisions provided security at other postal facilities around the city.

When the attack on the Pentagon occurred about one hour later, Postal Inspectors from the Washington, DC, area responded to assist FBI agents with evidence collection at the crash site. A team of Postal Inspectors from the Pittsburgh area reported to the hijacked plane crash site at Somerset County, PA, to assist in securing the site and the mail. Three teams of Postal Inspectors rotated shifts at the FBI Command Center and aided with evidence-gathering at the scene of the crash. Inspectors at National Headquarters in Washington, DC, evacuated employees at the L'Enfant Plaza building and relocated national postal operations to an alternate site. Postal Inspectors and PPOs provided building security at both Headquarters and the alternate site, disseminating intelligence information to postal managers and generally assisting them in making operational decisions.

Postal Inspectors must address a wide variety of natural disasters that can affect postal operations across the country. Disasters can range from truck or train accidents, which may expose mail to security hazards, to raging floods or tropical storms that can destroy mail, close postal facilities and harm employees. Postal Inspectors provide guidance to managers when a post office suffers a fire or has a roof torn off during a storm. When post offices in California were affected by rolling blackouts this past year, Inspectors worked with postal management to mitigate the problem by anticipating power outages.

Tropical Storm Allison caused flooding in downtown Houston in March 2001, when as much as 26 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period. While not all postal facilities were damaged, many were inaccessible due to road flooding. Postal Inspectors and Postal Police Officers provided security at the Houston P&DC, coordinated the clean-up of the facility and worked with postal managers to direct alternative mail activities.

Floodwaters in West Virginia destroyed as many as 3,000 homes in July 2001, including those of many postal employees. Six post offices were seriously affected, with five suffering flood damage to mail and postage stock. Postal Inspectors assisted with clean-up operations, as well as the recovery of mail and postal property that were washed away by the floods. Postal Inspectors also helped to establish temporary post office sites to return mail service to needy areas.

Observations of Mail Conditions

For the third consecutive year, the chief operating officer of the U.S. Postal Service requested the Postal Inspection Service to conduct an Observation of Mail Conditions (OMC) review during the fall and holiday mailing seasons. Inspectors held planning meetings with postal managers to determine site selections for the past year's OMC efforts. The first of 20 OMC reviews began during the week of September 5, 2000, and Postal Inspectors began to submit weekly reports of the reviews beginning September 15, 2000.

The OMC program emphasized direct contact with postal area operations support, district and processing and distribution center (P&DC) managers. The Postal Inspection Service upgraded this year's OMC program with a new report generated from the Customer Service Daily Reporting System (CSDRS) database; initiating the Quality Test Letter, which incorporates an electronic-tracking device for mail; and using the Confirm-Planet barcode system. Postal Inspectors expanded their coverage to provide more focus on facility, employee and mail security during site visits, and added more information on security to their weekly reports for postal managers. Inspectors continued to evaluate Mail Condition Reports and the Management Operating Data System report in relation to actual observations of mail on-hand.

As part of the OMC program in FY 2001, Postal Inspectors reviewed all political mailings transported on November 6 and 7, 2000. OMCs were conducted at every postal area and almost every postal district. Inspectors issued 20 OMC reports and one special report on conditions at the Washington Bulk Mail Center between September 15, 2000, and January 26, 2001, and issued 17 Investigative Memorandums during the same period on observations at customer service facilities.

Postal Inspectors observed mail conditions and conducted security reviews at 374 postal area offices, district offices and mail processing facilities, and during 525 visits to customer service facilities in FY 2001. During the November 2000 national elections, Inspectors visited an additional 66 mail processing sites and 129 customer service sites. Some sites were observed during multiple visits to follow up on prior reports or because of management requests.

Mail-Screening Operations

Postal Inspectors performed mail-screening operations at a number of high-profile events at the request of organizers and local law enforcement agencies. In the past fiscal year, Inspectors set up mail-screening at the National Governors' Conference at Providence, RI, and at Super Bowl XXXV at Tampa, FL. The Postal Inspection Service has already begun preparing for the 2002 Olympics, assigning Inspectors to the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee and developing strategies with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to ensure the security of the Winter Olympics in February 2002, which will be immediately followed by the Winter Paralympic Games.

Employee and Contractor Screening

The Inspection Service Operations Support Group (ISOSG) in Memphis provides the critical processing of security packets for postal employees and contractors requiring clearances. During FY 2001, approximately 7,700 "sensitive" clearance requests and 63,000 non-sensitive requests were evaluated and adjudicated. Approximately two percent of the requests were denied on the basis of criminal histories or outstanding warrants.

The clearance process has proven particularly important as the Postal Service forms new partnerships with other organizations. The USPS-FedEx Express contract included a provision that FedEx Express employees receive Inspection Service security clearances, in addition to the standard background investigations conducted by FedEx Express. FedEx Express officials embraced the process, recognizing the value of providing adequate screening for their workforce.

Security clearances are also required when the Postal Inspection Service must share sensitive data with "outside" partners. Because the Postal Service continues to explore e-commerce initiatives, it is imperative the Inspection Service take adequate precautions to ensure customers' data is not compromised.

A survey conducted by the Computer Security Institute revealed that businesses suffered their most serious financial losses through the theft of proprietary information. Thirty-one percent of respondents cited their internal systems as a frequent point of attack. A significant portion of consumers (92 percent) is concerned about misuse of their personal information. The results support the position of the Postal Inspection Service, which maintains that employees of outside partners must be carefully screened to ensure that information is not entrusted to individuals who pose an unacceptable risk to the organization.

Facility Security

Members of the Security Division of the Postal Inspection Service are completing work on the Facilities Security Database (FSD), a Web-based application designed to collect and analyze security data. FSD will generate reports from the Facility Profile Database, facility security surveys, facility risk surveys and a commercial crime database known as CAP-Index.

Security Control Officers completed surveys at each of the Postal Service's 35,000 sites in FY 2001, and that data, along with other demographic information, was input to the FSD database. Once deployed, the database will assist Postal Inspection Service managers, postal area security coordinators and postal managers in directing financial resources to address facility security issues based on risk assessments.

Security Division staff continue to work with Postal Inspection Service field offices and postal area security coordinators to identify security deficiencies.

Poster 66: WORK PLACE SECURITY, January 2001
It's good business and it's personal!

Educational Initiatives

The Security Division continued its efforts this past year to educate postal employees on basic security practices. The National Security Messaging Task Force, a partnership comprising members of the Postal Inspection Service's Security Division and the Postal Service's area security coordinators and Public Affairs & Communications staff, joined in an educational campaign to benefit postal employees. The highlight of this year's efforts was the distribution of a poster to major postal facilities outlining four steps postal employees can follow to contribute to security in the workplace. Titled "Workplace Security -It's Good Business and It's Personal," the poster can be ordered by any postal facility.

Computer Crimes and Commerce

Computer Crimes & Commerce Division staff equip Postal Inspectors across the country with the technical knowledge, skills and tools necessary to combat postal crimes in the information age. Division personnel train field Inspectors on recent technologies, advise the Chief Postal Inspector on policy issues, provide loss-prevention and security consulting services to Postal Service managers and lend in-depth support on computer-related investigations.

The division completed a two-day Digital Evidence and Internet Investigations training course for more than 600 Postal Inspectors, a project that spanned a two-year period. The course introduced Inspectors to new investigative and evidentiary issues related to high-tech crimes, educated them on how to use the Internet as a valuable source of information and demonstrated methods of searching the Internet to detect criminal activity. Computer Crimes & Commerce staff also developed and maintained an Intranet Web site over the past year, with links to Web sites relevant to Inspectors investigating Internet- and computer-related crime.

Postal Inspectors from the Computer Crimes & Commerce Division advise Postal Service managers on prevention techniques, revenue protection and security issues for e-commerce products and services. During FY 2001, the division completed 16 facility security reviews and conducted several site visits of contractor facilities related to postal e-commerce products, such as eBillPay,® NetPost Mailing Online™ and NetPost™ Premium Postcards. The reviews focused on physical security, access control and employee security clearances.

In August 2001, the division hosted the first E-Commerce Security Specialist Conference in Potomac, MD. The conference brought together Postal Inspectors from across the country to acquaint them with various features of postal e-commerce products, such as eBillPay,® NetPost™ Services, PosteCS™ and Electronic Postmark (EPM). The conference was a first step in increasing the Postal Inspection Service's ability to effectively investigate crimes committed against, or using, postal e-commerce products.

International Security

The International Security Group of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service undertakes initiatives to improve the safety, security and reliability of international mail products for the U.S. Postal Service. Formed in 1990, the group comprises Postal Inspectors assigned to offices at the Postal Service's National Headquarters and the U.S. National Central Bureau-Interpol in Washington, DC; the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon, France; the International Bureau-Universal Postal Union (UPU) in Berne, Switzerland; the Dallas International Mail Service Center in Texas; and the Miami Airport Mail Center in Florida.

International Security Group members develop strategies and initiatives aimed at maintaining a high quality of service and security for the 189 member countries of the UPU. An extension of this effort is the establishment, development and management of the Postal Security Action Group (PSAG) of the UPU. Chaired by the Chief Postal Inspector, PSAG now comprises postal security officials from 53 member and 34 observer countries, as well as numerous international organizations concerned with postal security.

Over the past four years, the International Security Group has worked closely with the UPU to implement the International Mail Quality Assurance-Airport Security Review Program. In January 2001, Postal Inspectors coordinated international reviews at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Bridgetown, Barbados; Kingston, Jamaica; Santiago, Chile; and Nairobi, Kenya. A cadre of postal security experts from their respective regions and host countries, including representatives from local airlines, airport security and airport authority, participated. In each case, the review team included all stakeholders with a vested interest in improving mail handling and security at international airports and offices of exchange. Other international reviews conducted under the aegis of the UPU were completed at Panama City, Panama, and San José, Costa Rica, in August 2001.

The International Security Group supported three bilateral international missions in 2001. Group members coordinated an investigative trip to Rome, Italy, in April 2001, to address significant irregularities in the Postal Service's CON-CON civilian mail (concentration and convoy of registered mail), destined for Rome's International Airport. Postal Inspectors from the JFK International Team; postal officials from Mannheim, Germany; and a transportation manager from International Network Operations met with representatives of the U.S. military, Poste Italiane, air carriers, airport authorities and law enforcement personnel with airport jurisdiction to address mail theft issues. A follow-up trip to Milan, Italy, in May 2001, was made to determine whether originating CON-CON mail could be diverted from Rome to Milan in the event security could not be improved in Rome. Although the JFK International Team initiated measures intended to stop further losses, new initiatives are pending with Poste Italiane officials.

Two representatives from the International Security Group and JFK International Team (from Germany) and a representative from International Network Operations traveled to Amsterdam, Netherlands, in May 2001, to review U.S. Mail operations at Schiopol International Airport. A review of transit mail irregularities at Amsterdam found that procedures and security for U.S. Mail were acceptable. Although delayed U.S. Mail scheduled to transit through Amsterdam to destinations in Eastern Europe and Africa was reported as missing, when the dispatches were delivered, officials failed to notify the Postal Service, and the MARIA database (the International Mail Loss Reporting System) reflected no losses.

The International Security Group hosted the Postal Inspection Service-FedEx Express Security Seminar at Memphis, TN, in August 2001. Co-hosted with the Security Group, the seminar joined FedEx Express and international airport (gateway) coordinators, operations personnel and FedEx Express security officials to address issues related to the new USPS-FedEx Express Alliance. More than 120 participants attended the four-day seminar to address investigative guidelines and protocols, network with FedEx Express security officials and share information on domestic and international initiatives, resulting in new guidelines that will facilitate investigative responses.

The International Security Group also coordinated the following training initiatives in FY 2001:

The International Security Group assisted with the rollout of MARIA 2001 this fiscal year by conducting in-depth training for Postal Inspectors and information technology specialists at Ottawa and Montreal, Canada; Tokyo, Japan; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Washington, DC. MARIA software enables users worldwide to collect, distribute and analyze postal data to identify high-loss airmail route segments by comparing and contrasting routes with losses. The system was installed in Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean and South America in the past year.

The Deputy Chief Postal Inspector-Field Operations East and an International Security Group member coordinated the West Africa Fraud Working Group of the UPU, which has representatives from Belgium, Great Britain, Nigeria, South Africa, Sweden, Togo and the United States. The twice-yearly meeting focuses on global initiatives targeting the worldwide problem of advance-fee schemes, which originate in West Africa. To date, member countries have removed from the mailstream more than 18 million letters-about 9.24 tons of mail containing fraudulent advance-fee investment opportunities from Nigeria and other West African countries; 6 million of the fraudulent letters were seized by U.S. Postal Inspectors before they reached the hands of potential victims.

The International Security Group coordinated PSAG's Global Mail Security Working Group, which features officials from Brazil, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Portugal, Singapore and the United States responsible for strengthening the international mail network, reducing global mail irregularities and protecting assets. The group developed a model Airport Security Review Program, facilitated the global rollout of MARIA 2000, analyzed the international mail-loss database and identified high-risk international airports needing reviews.

In June 2001, the Chief Postal Inspector and representatives from the International Security Group participated in the first Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC) Postal Security Action Group meeting in Moscow, Russia. Forty postal security experts from 12 former Soviet Bloc countries participated in the two-day seminar to develop strategies and initiatives to improve the quality of service and mail security. With the leadership of Russia's Chief Postal Inspector, the RCC has established a regional postal security network to enhance communications among its member countries and increase the security and reliability of international products.

The International Security Group coordinated the United Nations Drug Control Program-Universal Postal Union program in September 2001 for 18 African countries. Focusing on drugs in the mail and money laundering, the program will target transnational crime to ensure cooperative investigations and improve the integrity of international mail.

Quote: Millions of official-looking letters are received in the United States each year purporting to be from government officials in Nigeria, who claim to have millions of dollars from "business contracts" to move out of their country. The letters seek addressees' personal information as well as their help in moving the money out of Nigeria in exchange for a share of the funds. People who respond may not only lose large amounts of money, they may also become victims of identity takeover fraud. Since FY 1998, more than 5.5 million of the fraudulent letters were seized by U.S. Postal Inspectors before they reached the hands of potential victims.

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