Good afternoon Chairman Lynch, Ranking Member Chaffetz and members of the Subcommittee. My name is Guy Cottrell, Deputy Chief Inspector for the United States Postal Inspection Service. I am pleased to be here with you today to discuss safety and security practices at the United States Postal Service.
In the Postal Service, many functions work together on the safety and security of our employees. While I am a postal inspector, please note that in discussing today’s testimony, I am also providing information that reflects security strategies across many different functions, including Human Resources, Operations, Information Technology and Facilities.
Let me begin with the role of the United States Postal Inspection Service. Our mission is to protect the U.S. Postal Service and employees, secure the nation's mail system and ensure public trust in the mail.
As one of our country’s oldest federal law enforcement agencies, founded by Benjamin Franklin, the United States Postal Inspection Service has a long, proud, and successful history of fighting criminals who attack our nation’s postal system and misuse it to defraud, endanger, or otherwise threaten the American public. As the primary law enforcement arm of the United States Postal Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service is a highly specialized, professional organization performing investigative and security functions essential to a stable and sound postal system.
Congress empowered the Postal Service "to investigate postal offenses and civil matters relating to the Postal Service." Through its security and enforcement functions, the Postal Inspection Service provides assurance to postal employees of a safe work environment; postal customers of the "sanctity of the seal" in transmitting correspondence and messages; and American businesses for the safe exchange of funds and securities through the U.S. Mail.
Postal Inspectors are federal law enforcement officers who carry firearms, make arrests and serve federal search warrants and subpoenas. Inspectors work closely with U.S. Attorneys, other law enforcement agencies, and local prosecutors to investigate postal cases and prepare them for court. There are approximately 1,400 Postal Inspectors stationed throughout the United States and abroad who enforce more than 200 federal laws covering investigations of crimes that adversely affect or fraudulently use the U.S. Mail and postal system.
To assist in carrying out its responsibilities, the Postal Inspection Service maintains a Security Force staffed by approximately 650 uniformed 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 is responsible for the physical protection of all postal facilities, personnel, assets, and infrastructure. The Postal Inspection Service maintains liaison with other investigative and law enforcement agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and other national emergency coordinators.
Today my testimony will focus on the Postal Service’s building and employee security assessments, how threat communications are disseminated, the role that communications plays in securing employees’ safety and the Postal Inspection Service’s coordination with federal and local law enforcement.
One of the strengths of the Postal Service’s safety programs is that they are reinforced locally. While headquarters provides national guidance, Area and District offices have personnel tasked with a variety of safety functions. The Postal Service’s Infrastructure Security Assessment Program provides a good example of how functional experts work together with postal managers to take a comprehensive look at a building’s security. The program was developed to help postmasters and installation heads achieve and maintain compliance with existing policies and procedures governing physical security, personnel security, internal security, and mail security. Tools used to conduct the review include comprehensive onsite observations, document reviews, and interviews of facility personnel. At the conclusion of each assessment, a plan is developed to address any issues identified in that review.
The same team approach is used when new postal facilities are being designed and when postal facilities undergo renovations. Postal Inspectors, working with staff from the Postal Service’s Facilities office, assess risks to ensure that appropriate security and safety measures are incorporated into facility construction plans, assuring that facilities offer appropriate protection for postal employees, customers, and assets. In reviews of existing postal facilities, Postal Inspectors routinely identify issues with doors, windows, fencing and gates and offer recommendations to enhance security. In addition, each postal facility has a Security Control Officer who is responsible for the security of their facility and ensuring compliance with the Postal Service security policies and procedures.
One recent highlight is a new security computer system–the Enterprise Physical Access Control System (ePACS)–that links the Postal Service’s computerized access control systems nationwide through its local area network. When actions are taken in one system, such as an employee termination or a suspension of access, they are reflected system-wide. This system is being deployed currently.
A key strategy that we use regarding enhancing security is to reinforce the key role that employees play in each other’s safety. The best security force for any facility comes from the people who work in that facility. At every opportunity, the Postal Service has reinforced the personal responsibility that employees share in keeping our facilities secure. Historically, special emphasis has been placed on developing employee communications safety materials. Reinforcing communications with employees on safety matters is ingrained in our culture. Each week at facilities nationwide, managers are required to give safety stand-up talks. These talks are on the clock and provide employees with safety tips and information. During these talks, we use data that we have on trends or incidents that need to be emphasized with employees. We have developed safety posters, videos, and pamphlets. For example, regarding building security, we remind employees: “Remember, security begins with you. Help us protect your facility.” Simple tips to employees such as looking at the condition of fences or lighting or deadbolt locks or public access to the workroom floor all contribute to employee safety. We will shortly begin an educational campaign aimed specifically at our letter carriers, to provide them with safety advice to increase their awareness while out of the office delivering mail.
Our Human Resources department maintains an Intranet site dedicated to safety. Employees can look up safety talks by topics or consult a fire drill evacuation checklist or review safety policies and procedures.
Another step in protecting employees and facilities is to ensure that a background check has been conducted regarding potential Postal Service employees. Postal Service Human Resource officials, working with the courts, law enforcement officials and background-check providers, screen applicants for career-employee positions. The Inspection Service is responsible for conducting background investigations related to the issuance of security clearances for the Postal Service. Career and Contract Delivery Service personnel are fingerprinted, checked for a criminal history, screened for drug use, and verified for U.S. citizenship or legal work status. Emphasis on the security clearance process is important because a serious risk posed to most businesses comes from the “insider” who has access to restricted areas, knowledge of sensitive procedures, or access to sensitive information. Rigorous adherence to these procedures has helped maintain the Postal Service’s position as one of the most trusted Federal agencies.
A major component of the Postal Service’s workplace violence prevention program is the District Threat Assessment Team [TAT]. Threat Assessments Teams use cross-functional team approaches to assist in assessing threatening situations and to develop risk abatement plans to minimize the potential risk of future violence. Each District is responsible to establish and maintain a TAT to ensure that employees are aware of how to contact the TAT and share information. The TATs are violence awareness/prevention teams designed to ensure a safe working environment for all employees and a secure business climate for Postal Service customers. The Postal Service also requires supervisors to complete Workplace Violence Awareness training. The goal of the web based training is to provide supervisors with the keys to identifying and responding appropriately to reports of acts of violence and/or inappropriate behavior.
The Postal Service provides a vital service to America. The Inspection Service works with other law enforcement agencies when faced with a natural or manmade threat and/or disaster. The purpose of national preparedness planning is to ensure readiness and risk mitigation plans, and to return to normal operations as quickly as possible. This is accomplished internally by an all-hazards plan which designates teams at various organizational levels who are responsible to perform designated preparedness and response tasks specific to a particular threat or hazard.
The Postal Service has established and continues to refine an agency wide continuity program. A main objective of the program is to ensure safety and welfare of all Postal Service personnel throughout any incident. Today’s threat environment and the potential for no-notice emergencies, including localized acts of nature, accidents, technological emergencies, and malicious attacks, have increased the need for this. The continuity program incorporates plans and procedures prior to, during and after an event relative to the employee’s safety and welfare. The Postal Service Continuity Program components are tested and exercised on an annual basis.
The following are employee safety oriented components that support the Postal Service Continuity Program.
Prior to an event, procedures are implemented that allow for the notification of all employees of a facility that an event has occurred and where each employee is to report. The National Employee Emergency Hotline is one component of these procedures. This is a toll-free number for all Postal Service employees to use in the event of an emergency (facilities problems, weather emergencies, etc.) to receive information about facility closings and operating status. We are also updating another computer program – the Geospatial Information System Technologies which identifies critical postal facilities in the path of approaching storms, provides flood-plain modeling and real-time storm updates, and helps estimate anticipated impacts on postal assets.
Immediately after an event, a determination is made as to whether a facility is safe for re-entry via the Facility Assessment Tool. This tool utilizes a cross functionally developed process to assess facilities for security, safety (physical and environmental) and health concerns. Additionally, the Postal Service has a national contract with a firm to allow the Postal Service to have expertise on call to mitigate or remediate any issues identified during the assessment.
As part of maintaining liaison with other federal and local law enforcement agencies, the Inspection Service works with other agencies on training exercises. This ensures that Postal Service personnel, equipment, and procedures are ready to manage an emergency without interrupting operations. The Postal Inspection Service conducts, reviews, and evaluates training on proper procedures for emergency management personnel and other essential staff. Testing ensures that essential equipment and information systems, and the processes and procedures needed to use them, are viable and conform to proper specifications. The exercises promote preparedness, improve response capabilities for individuals and functions, assure that all systems are appropriate, and determine the effectiveness of command, control, and communications processes.
Additionally, the Postal Inspection Service helped implement the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Exercise Schedule (NEXS), as the Postal Inspection Service is a stakeholder in the National Level Exercise and Principal Level Exercise. The Postal Inspection Service partnered with other federal agencies to collaborate, coordinate, critique, and provide essential feedback in support of its national response readiness operations.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify about some of the Postal Service’s initiatives on safety and security. The Postal Service views employees as its most important asset and their safety is critical to us. We will continue to communicate the personal responsibility that employees need to take regarding their safety, while doing our utmost to provide secure work environments. I would be pleased to answer any questions the Subcommittee may have.
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