The mission of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is to support and protect the U.S. Postal Service and its employees, infrastructure, and customers. Postal inspectors are law enforcement agents who are assigned accountable property, such as surveillance equipment, for investigative purposes. Surveillance equipment is an electronic or mechanical device used to capture communications, visual images, and physical locations for investigative purposes. As of fiscal year 2023, the Postal Inspection Service had about 10,000 pieces of law enforcement surveillance equipment valued at over $65 million. Effective management of law enforcement equipment ensures the Postal Inspection Service can fulfill its important mission of countering mail theft and narcotics in mail and preventing identity theft to support and protect the Postal Service and its customers.
Open Recommendations
| Recommendation Number | Significant Recommendation | Recommended Questioned Costs | Recommended Funds for Better Use | Additional Details | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| Develop and require all users to complete Electronic/Technical Surveillance Tracking System training and maintain documentation of training completion. | |||||
| 2 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| Develop a verification process for annual physical equipment inventories to account for all equipment as required by the Inspection Service Manual. | |||||
| 9 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| Resolve Electronic/Technical Surveillance Tracking System functionality errors preventing users from temporarily transferring, temporarily assigning, and recording the final disposition of law enforcement surveillance equipment, including digital signature capability. | |||||
| 3 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| 1) Review all postal inspectors with assigned equipment and validate they are active employees, 2) retrieve equipment from postal inspectors who separated from the agency, and 3) update the status and assignment of all equipment in the Electronic/Technical Surveillance Tracking System. | |||||
| 8 | Yes | $0 | $0 | ||
| Implement audit logs containing user activity for creating, assigning, editing, and removing user roles in the Electronic/Technical Surveillance Tracking System. | |||||
