U.S. Postal Service’s Response to Mail Theft

Submitting OIG:

Report Description:

Our objective was to evaluate the Postal Service’s efforts to respond to mail theft. For this audit, we reviewed processes and procedures for addressing mail theft, management of arrow keys, and mail theft complaints, investigations, and carrier robberies from October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2022, for five Postal Inspection Service divisions: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, and Washington, DC.

Date Issued:

Thursday, September 28, 2023

Agency Reviewed / Investigated:

U.S. Postal Service

Submitting OIG-Specific Report Number:

22-178-R23

Location(s):

Agency-Wide

Type of Report:

Audit

Questioned Costs:

Funds for Better Use:

$1,008,976

Number of Recommendations:

Report updated under NDAA 5274:

View Document:

Attachment	Size
22-178-R23.pdf	4.99 MB

Related Open Recommendations

Recommendation Number	Recommendation Status	Significant Recommendation
1	Open	Yes
Develop a plan to include proposed quantities, projected cost, and actionable milestones to fully deploy the eArrow lock and high security mailbox initiatives, and include measures to assess their effectiveness.
2	Open	Yes
Provide new and acting managers and supervisors training on arrow key policies upon assuming their roles and maintain documentation of training attendance.
3	Open	Yes
Develop an oversight mechanism to hold managers and supervisors accountable for following established arrow key policy and training requirements.
4	Open	Yes
Finalize the Mail Theft Strategy that is under development by the end of calendar year 2023.
5	Open	Yes
Assess staffing resources available nationwide to support the Mail Theft Program and align resources with their Mail Theft Strategy.
6	Open	Yes
Require postal inspectors to complete the In-Service Basic Mail Theft training within one year of being assigned to a mail theft team.
7	Open	Yes
Work with the contracting officer to modify the existing contract and 1) define the Mail Theft Analytics Program purpose to improve complaint data quality and usefulness for division personnel, 2) develop internal controls such as guidance and an oversight mechanism, and 3) establish performance metrics to assess the effectiveness of the program.

Recommendation Number

Recommendation Status

Significant Recommendation

Additional Details

Open

Yes

Develop a plan to include proposed quantities, projected cost, and actionable milestones to fully deploy the eArrow lock and high security mailbox initiatives, and include measures to assess their effectiveness.

Open

Yes

Provide new and acting managers and supervisors training on arrow key policies upon assuming their roles and maintain documentation of training attendance.

Open

Yes