According to the IG, about a third of USPIS’ investigative activities, “do not directly support protection of Postal Service assets, Postal Service employees, or the mail system.” Restoring a basic semblance of mail security requires that USPS leadership hold the Postal Inspection Service accountable and tie future funding to core investigative activities.
New agency policies can also ensure that mail is transported speedily and more securely. The USPS already contracts out some of its deliveries via the Contract Delivery Service (CDS), though contractors currently deliver to less than 2 percent of all delivery points. Interestingly, the USPS has consistently overestimated CDS costs (by about 7 percent), which may have led to the agency not using contractors as much as it could have over the past few years. Turbocharging this service could mean more trucks humming along on the last mile with greater security precautions at a fraction of ordinary compensation costs. Contractors, after all, have skin in the game and know too well that stolen mail will lead to the termination of their postal partnerships.
Postal consumers have had to worry about their mail being stolen for far too long. It’s time for the USPS to reassess its mission and deliver on a secure and affordable mail system.
