This report presents the results of our audit of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Mail Covers Program (Project Number 13YG035HR000). The objective of this self-initiated audit was to determine whether the U.S. Postal Service and the Postal Inspection Service are effectively and efficiently handling mail covers according to postal and federal requirements. Specifically, we assessed controls over the processing of mail covers.

In fiscal year (FY) 2013, the Postal Inspection Service reviewed and processed about 49,0002 mail covers. A mail cover is an investigative tool used to record data appearing on the outside of a mailpiece. Agencies must demonstrate a reasonable basis for requesting mail covers, send hard copies of their request forms to the Criminal Investigative Service Center (CISC)3 for processing, and treat mail covers as restricted and confidential. A mail cover should not be used as a routine investigative tool. The requesting law enforcement agency must explain what law the subject of the mail cover is violating and how the mail cover could further the investigation or provide evidence of a crime. Mail covers are granted only when written requests to the Postal Inspection Service meet all requirements.

The CISC reviews each request to ensure it contains enough information to stand alone as full justification for the cover and fully complies with all applicable regulations. CISC personnel manually enter the information from the hard copy request form into the Inspection Service Integrated Information System’s4 (ISIIS) electronic mail cover application. Responsible officials review each request to ensure the mail cover is completely justified and the request fully complies with all regulations. Once the CISC approves the request, it forwards the request to the Postal Service to obtain the mail cover data. The Postal Service is responsible for copying or recording the information from the outside of the mailpiece and forwarding that information to the Postal Inspection Service for further processing. The Postal Inspection Service must maintain close control over and supervision of the mail cover. See Appendix A for additional information about this audit.

Conclusion
Opportunities exist to improve controls over the mail covers program. For example, responsible personnel did not always handle and process mail cover requests in a timely manner and accountable documents, such as mail sender and addressee information obtained during the mail cover period, were not always returned.

Of the 196 external criminal mail cover requests we reviewed, 21 percent were approved without written authority and 13 percent were not adequately justified or reasonable grounds were not transcribed accurately. Also, 15 percent of the inspectors who conducted did not have the required nondisclosure form on file. Further, the Postal Inspection Service provided evidence of only one review of the mail covers program over the past 3 fiscal years and did not have procedures to ensure annual reviews were performed as required. Finally, the ISIIS mail cover application did not always provide accurate and reliable information because system controls were not sufficient to ensure completeness, accuracy, and consistency of mail cover data. For example, we found 928 mail covers in active status even though their cover periods had ended.

Insufficient controls over the mail covers program could hinder the Postal Inspection Service’s ability to conduct effective investigations, lead to public concerns over privacy of mail, and harm the Postal Service’s brand.

WHAT THE OIG RECOMMENDED

We recommended management improve controls to ensure responsible personnel process mail covers in a timely manner and conduct periodic reviews of the mail covers program. Also, we recommended management implement system controls to ensure data integrity in the Postal Inspection Service mail cover application.

OIG Audit: Postal Inspection Service Mail Covers Program