Fact source: Carroll Harris, Inspector

Female Postal Inspectors hired – 1971

First Female

Postal Inspectors, 1971

In 1971, the Postal Inspection Service became one of the first federal law enforcement organizations to hire female agents.

* | Tags: History Inspection service USPS Fact #327 | April 19, 2024

 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service enforces federal laws, prevents crimes and keeps customers, employees and the mail safe. It’s one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the nation. These days our Inspectors remain on the heels of the criminals — targeting theft, disrupting drug traffickers, warning about fraud scams and more.

The Inspection Service does this with approximately 2,400 employees, including nearly 1,300 Postal Inspectors, roughly 500 uniformed Postal Police Officers and 600 professional, technical and administrative support personnel ensuring America’s confidence in the U.S. Mail.

 

 

 

The Inspectors TV program

Emmy Award

winning TV show

The Inspection Service uses various media platforms to educate the American public about scams and how to avoid them. A weekly TV series, The Inspectors, was based on real-life Postal Inspection Service cases. 104 episodes of the Emmy Award-winning scripted drama ran for four seasons on network television, reaching more than 200 million viewers.

* | Tags: Inspection service USPS Fact #325 | April 19, 2024

National Consumer Protection Week

EDUCATION

for consumers

National Consumer Protection Week. During the Federal Trade Commission’s annual awareness campaign, the Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service provide customers with education, tools and information to combat identity theft and mail fraud.

* | Tags: Inspection service People USPS Fact #317 | April 22, 2024

More information can be found at

Keeping America’s Postal System Secure

USPS
Sanctity

and Security of the US Mail

The Postal Inspection Service works aggressively and takes all practicable measures to ensure the sanctity and security of the U.S. Mail.

* | Tags: Inspection service USPS Fact #301 | April 22, 2024

Keeping America’s postal system secure — 2023 stats

  • 4,728 arrests. 4,103 convictions. Primarily prohibited mail, mail theft, and assaults and robberies of employees.
  • More than $600,000 in misappropriated or stolen mail transport equipment recovered.
  • 1,804 suspicious mail incidents investigated.
  • 2,001 arrests for illegal narcotics.
  • 6,721 responses to reports of violent criminal activity, including 576 credible threats and assaults against postal employees. 450 arrests. 306 convictions.
  • 1,566 assets seized, worth more than $402 million.
  • Six investigations into the use of mail in the sexual exploitation of children. Three arrests. Five convictions. To date, more than 20,000 child sexual abuse victims identified.
  • More than 1 million items, including 378 terabytes of data, examined by forensic scientists and specialists in the Postal Inspection Service’s Forensic Laboratory Services. 2,262 suspects identified.