BUFFALO, N.Y. — The oldest federal law enforcement agency is celebrating its 250th birthday this year.
Have you ever heard of the United States Postal Inspection Service? You might have. But did you know that it works with the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives?
In 2023, the United States Postal Service’s shipping and package volume was 7.1 billion. Among those items are potentially dangerous materials. Jerry Styers loves getting those calls.
“I like to kind of consider us the ‘Batmen’ of federal law enforcement,” Styers said. “The FBI is sort of like Superman because they’re out there out front. We’re kind of in the darkness, but we’ll come snatch you up when we need to, right?”
Styers has been with the United States Postal Service for 19 years.
“We enforce over 200 federal statutes that have to do with the mail,” Styers said. “We have the widest purview of any federal law enforcement agency because we work anything that touches the mail.”
