The Role of the United States Postal Service in …

1 Lois M. Davis, Michael Pollard, Jeremiah Goulka, Katherine Mack, Russell Lundberg, Paul SteinbergSponsored by the United States Postal ServiceA RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMS afety and Justice The Role of the United States Postal Service in public Safety and SecurityImplications of Relaxing the Mailbox MonopolyThe R AND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. R A ND s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and is a registered trademark. Copyright 2008 R AND CorporationAll rights reserved.

2 No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from R 2008 by the R AND Corporation1776 Main Street, Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-21381200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-50504570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665R AND URL: order R AND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution services : Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: research was sponsored by the United States Postal Service and was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within R AND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE).

3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataThe role of the United States Postal Service in public safety and security : implications of relaxing the mailbox monopoly / Lois M. Davis .. [et al.]. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-8330-4615-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States Postal Service . 2. Postal Service United States Safety measures. I. Davis, Lois M. 2008 dc222008044821iiiPrefaceThe United States Postal Service (USPS) has long held statutory monopolies to deliver mail and to require that only mail be deliv-ered to the mailbox. While the USPS has defended its monopolies as necessary to fulfill its mission to provide Service to every delivery point in the United States , several critics have argued against the monopo-lies, primarily on economic, antimonopoly grounds related to leveling the playing field for other competitors and on property rights grounds for mailbox owners.

4 However, sometimes lost in the economic debate surrounding the monopolies is the fact that relaxing the monopolies may have ramifications in other areas in particular, public safety and security. When it comes to delivering mail, there are several possible public safety and security concerns, including, for example, mail fraud, identity theft, and even terrorism, as demonstrated by prior use of the mail to send letter bombs and the potential public safety and security concerns, the USPS asked the R AND Corporation to assess the security implications of relaxing the USPS s monopoly on delivering to the mailbox (known variously as the Mailbox Restriction, the Mailbox Rule, or the Mailbox Monopoly) to allow private couriers to deliver directly to mailboxes as well.

5 Specifically, the project addresses whether relaxing the Mailbox Rule would present a public safety risk to carriers, couriers, and cus-tomers. To do so, R AND researchers used a combination of qualitative analyses ( , literature review, key-actor interviews with USPS staff and external experts, and a survey of consumers) and descriptive quan-titative analyses ( , of incident databases collected by the United iv The Role of the United States Postal Service in public Safety and SecurityStates Postal Inspection Service , or IS). However, it is important to note that all of our statements with regard to private couriers and com-parisons to the USPS are based solely on publicly available documents and some suggestive data from the IS incident database.

6 Without other detailed, direct information from the couriers, similar to that provided by the USPS, we can only infer what their current capacity is for man-aging safety and security issues in the processing and delivery research should be of interest to policymakers, Congress, and the private RAND Safety and Justice ProgramThis research was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within R AND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environ-ment (ISE). The mission of R AND Infrastructure, Safety, and Envi-ronment is to improve the development, operation, use, and protec-tion of society s essential physical assets and natural resources and to enhance the related social assets of safety and security of individuals in transit and in their workplaces and communities.

7 Safety and Justice Program research addresses occupational safety, transportation safety, food safety, and public safety including violence, policing, correc-tions, substance abuse, and public or comments about this monograph should be sent to the project leader, Lois Davis Information about the Safety and Justice Program is available online ( ). Inquiries about research projects should be sent to the following address:Greg Ridgeway, Acting DirectorSafety and Justice Program, ISER AND Corporation1776 Main StreetSanta Monica, CA 90407-2138310-393-0411, ..iiiFigures ..ixTables ..xiSummary ..xiiiAcknowledgments ..xxiiiAbbreviations ..xxvChAPTer OneIntroduction ..1 Background ..1 Study Approach.

8 2 Study Limitations ..3 Organization of This Monograph ..5 ChAPTer TwOThe USPS s Monopolies and Its role in public Safety ..7 Introduction to the USPS Monopolies ..7 The Mailbox Rule ..8 The Postal Monopoly ..9 What Happens If the Mailbox Rule Is Relaxed? ..11 The public Safety and Security Roles of the USPS and Private Couriers ..14 National Response Framework and Cities Readiness Initiative ..14 National Infrastructure Protection Plan ..15 Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism ..15 Carrier Alert ..16vi The Role of the United States Postal Service in public Safety and SecurityPublic Safety Education and Awareness ..16 The Role of the IS in public Safety and Security ..20 ChAPTer Threerelaxing the Mailbox rule: effect on public Safety and Security Incidents.

9 23 Types of Security Incidents and Trends ..24 Volume Attacks ..26 Fraud ..29 Financial Crime ..32 Suspicious Incidents ..36 Improvised Explosive Devices (Bombs) ..40 Differences Between the USPS and Private Courier Companies in Training, public Accountability, and Oversight ..41 Federal Regulations That Apply to Both the USPS and Private Couriers ..42 Differences in Training ..43 Differences in Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms ..57 Security Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Rule ..59 General Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Rule ..59 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Implications for Security Incidents ..61 Summary ..65 ChAPTer FOUrrelaxing the Mailbox rule: effect on the IS s Ability to Detect, Deter, and Investigate Crime.

10 67 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Federal Jurisdiction Over Mail ..68 Mail and the Mailbox ..68 Diversion of Mail to Private Couriers ..72 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Investigation Costs ..75 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Tracking Trends in Mail Crime ..76 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on the Ability to Deter Crime ..78 Does Enforcement of the Mailbox Rule Deter the Acts It Proscribes? ..78 Does Enforcement Deter Crimes at the Mailbox? ..80Do the USPS and IS Deter Crimes That Might Be Diverted to Private Couriers? ..81 Contents viiSummary ..83 ChAPTer FIvePublic Perceptions About relaxing the Mailbox rule ..85 Methods ..86 Key Survey Findings ..88 Most Respondents Have a Positive Perception of the USPS.