Smithsonian National Postal Museum opens new exhibit: “U.S. Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service”

Protecting the mail is the job of the U.S. Postal Inspec­tion Service. Sometimes called the silent service, it’s one of the oldest federal law enforcement agencies in the country. Postal inspectors also safeguard employees and custom­ers from criminal attack and protect the nation’s mail sys­tem from criminal misuse.

Now the Smithsonian Postal Museum has opened a new exhibit about the agency. “U.S. Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service” lends a historical viewpoint to the agency’s storied past and highlights some of its most prominent investigations, from mail train robberies in the 1800s to the Unabomber in the late 1990s. The exhibit runs through Feb. 28, 2009.

The museum is located in the old Post Office building next to Union Station in Washington, DC. It’s open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and admission is free. Learn more about the Postal Inspection Service at the Smithsonian’s Web site at www.postalmuseum.si.edu/inspectors/index.html.