Fact source: Inspector

U.S. Postal Inspection Service

USPS
POSTAL

INSPECTION SERVICE

Enforcing the law. Established Aug. 7, 1775. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service enforces federal laws, prevents crimes and keeps customers, employees and the mail safe.

* | Tags: Inspection service USPS Fact #815 | April 15, 2024

It’s one of the oldest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Postal 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 — all working to ensure America’s confidence in the U.S. Mail.

Illegal Narcotics

Postal Museum
2,001

arrests

In 2023, the Inspection Service reported 2,001 arrests pertaining to illegal narcotics-related cases.

* | Tags: Inspection service USPS Fact #674 | April 17, 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.