It’s an alarming trend that is happening across the country. Mail carriers are being robbed and people are having their mail stolen. The Postal Inspection Service is the investigative branch of the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) that looks into these crimes.
- Postal inspectors are criminal investigators, while postal police officers are uniformed cops, that, as of 2020, protect buildings instead of mail and postal workers, Frank Albergo, president of the Postal Police Officers Association, said.
- Since the postal police force stopped patrolling, there has been an “explosion in mail theft and attacks on carriers,” he explained.
- Postal police officers can devote all of their resources to mail theft prevention and the protection of postal employees, unlike regular police officers, Albergo stated.
- Albergo is hoping the new Congress introduces a mail theft prevention bill that would restore the postal police authority, increase penalties for mail theft and possibly include funds to update technology.
SEE ALSO | How the USPS sorting and delivery consolidation plan could affect workers

LA VERGNE, TN - NOVEMBER 04: Detail view of the USPS logo on a piece of priority mail packaging during a media tour of a United States Postal Service package support annex on November 4, 2021 in La Vergne, Tennessee. USPS saw a 48 percent demand increase for package delivery last holiday season. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 25: Signage for the United States Post Office (USPS) is seen on September 25, 2013 in New York City. The USPS announced today that they're considering raising the price of stamps by 3 cents. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 23: A person puts a letter into a USPS mailbox during Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to slow the spread of coronavirus on August 23, 2020 in New York City. The fourth phase allows outdoor arts and entertainment, sporting events without fans and media production. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images)