MISSION STATEMENT

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; enforce the laws that defend the nation’s mail system from illegal or dangerous use; and ensure public trust in the mail.

Who We Are
As one of our country’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies, founded by Benjamin Franklin, we have a proud and successful history of fighting criminals who attack the nation’s postal system and misuse it to defraud, endanger, or otherwise threaten the American public.

As the federal law enforcement, crime prevention, and security arm of the Postal Service, our goal is to ensure confidence in the U.S. Mail. We work to assure that American businesses can safely dispatch funds, securities, and information through the U.S. Mail; that postal customers can entrust their correspondence to the mail; and that postal employees can work in a safe environment.

As Chief Security Officer of the Postal Service, our Chief Postal Inspector oversees instructions and regulations for security requirements. Inspectors conduct regular security reviews of facilities and collaborate with postal employees to bolster security countermeasures.

U.S. Postal Inspectors are federal law enforcement officers who carry firearms, make arrests, execute federal search warrants, and serve subpoenas. Inspectors work with U.S. Attorneys, other law enforcement, and local prosecutors to investigate cases and prepare them for court. Inspectors throughout the country enforce roughly 200 federal laws related to crimes that adversely affect or entail fraudulent use of the U.S. Mail, the postal system, postal employees, and customers.

To assist in carrying out its responsibilities, the Postal Inspection Service maintains a uniformed force of Postal Police Officers who are assigned to critical postal facilities throughout the country. The officers provide perimeter security, escort high-value mail shipments, and perform other essential protective functions.

The Postal Inspection Service operates a National Forensic Laboratory crime laboratory staffed with forensic scientists and technical specialists. They assist Inspectors in analyzing evidentiary material needed for identifying and tracing criminal suspects and in providing expert testimony for cases brought to trial.