The mere nature of mail – its ability to carry sealed items across borders and doorsteps – makes it inherently vulnerable to malicious practices. Ensuring that the content of the packages that enter customers’ homes does not harm them and their families is one of the responsibilities of postal operators. However, while mail security is paramount, various factors, including ignorance, inadequate capacities and knowledge, may facilitate postal crimes.
In the United States, the size of the country and the intensity of its commercial and financial flows inevitably make its postal network a prominent target for criminals. Historically, this large network has enjoyed the protection of its special law enforcement arm – the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), an agency whose existence dates back to the earliest years of the nation (learn more about the history of the USPIS).
“We exist to support and protect the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), which includes all of its employees, customers, and infrastructure, and also to protect the mail from criminal attacks,” says Gary R. Barksdale, the USPIS Chief Postal Inspector, in a conversation with the UPU Voice Mail podcast host Ian Kerr.
While the USPIS is a unique organization with a rather specific mandate, it is well integrated into the overall system of homeland security, with close ties to its sister agencies, such as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), when it comes to drug trafficking, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for terrorist-related cases. “A real difference between postal inspectors and other law enforcement organizations is that we are tied to our business. But we do any other law enforcement functions that any other law enforcement organization would do,” clarifies Barksdale.
According to the Chief Postal Inspector, workplace safety of over 600,000 postal employees in the United States is one of top priorities of the USPIS. Other core areas of work for postal inspectors currently include the use of the postal network for drug trafficking and contraband, as well as mail fraud, fake lotteries and fraudulent financial schemes, triggered by the rapid surge in e-commerce (learn more about the biggest cases of the USPIS).
To tackle the latter, the agency complements its investigatory activities with targeted sensitization campaigns and the development of educational materials for the population, with a specific attention to the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. “It is more important to prevent the crime from happening, to begin with,” continues Barksdale, “We have tons of prevention materials and videos to help protect our elderly, to educate them so that they don’t become a victim of a crime.”
As modern crime knows no borders, international cooperation is essential for effective response. Through collaborations with regional organizations, such as Europol, and leadership in the UPU Postal Security Group (PSG), the USPIS shares its centuries-long experience in postal security with the global postal community. “Our mission is to establish worldwide postal security,” says Barksdale, who is also the Chair of the UPU PSG. In this capacity, he leads the work of the Group focused on the development and implementation of the minimum security standards, applicable to all posts in the world. Since postal networks differ as much as the countries they serve, in the absence of dedicated security teams, small posts are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the UPU’s S58 and S59 security standards and assign at least one staff member responsible for security policies.
Most importantly, continuous security-related messaging, communication and liaison with staff, customers and appropriate authorities are key to keep the mail safe. Barksdale encourages a more active two-way communication between the Post and the public, highlighting the central role of vigilance and timely reporting on behalf of the population.
This proximity to the public and its trust in the postal service – the main assets of the Post – are eventually in the centre of the postal security work and what it strives to protect: “The world is still very dependent on the Post, and it is our job to ensure consumer confidence in the Post.”
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Listen to the full interview with Gary R. Barksdale, USPIS Chief Postal Inspector and UPU PSG Chair, on the latest episode of the UPU’s podcast Voice Mail