To mitigate risks to employees, customers and assets, Postal Inspectors and Homeland Security Coordinators conducted reviews at more than 6,000 installations under the Infrastructure Security Assessment Program. The program uses standardized methodology to assess security and measure compliance with security policies at postal installations throughout the country.
The Postal Service also initiates background investigations and adjudicates security clearances for employees and contractors. Staff are tasked with digitizing and archiving security files for Postal Inspection Service personnel and for closed criminal cases. The Security Investigations Service Center received approximately 49,000 requests. The majority of the applications came from contractors, who are required to have some level of security clearance before gaining access to mail or postal facilities.
The Postal Service continued to implement, manage, and refine resources pertinent to emergency responses and incident management. An updated Integrated Emergency Management Plan clearly delineates the roles and responsibilities of emergency responders during all phases for all stages of a response and incident types. Staff are also preparing a Pandemic Plan to address preparation, response, and recovery actions related to pandemic events.
Staff from the National Preparedness Group represented the Postal Service to sponsor this year’s National Preparedness Month in September. The annual event is intended to educate employees about how to prepare their homes for a hurricane or flood, what they should include in a basic emergency supply kit, and what factors they should consider in advance planning. Staff members held lunch-time seminars, provided free emergency supply giveaways, and conducted question-and-answer sessions to help raise awareness about how to deal with emergencies through advanced planning.
The Postal Service began implementing a consolidated notification system: the Postal Notification Emergency Management System (PNEMS), which combines the existing Watch Desk and Postal Alert Network System. PNEMS delivers automated notifications to Postal Inspection Service staff and personnel from the Postal Service’s Emergency Management Teams. PNEMS supplements existing notification processes by providing Postal Inspection Service personnel with Essential Crisis Management, which is Incident Management Software, to coordinate activities related to emergency responses. This system improves communications between responders and postal management teams during critical incidents. The Postal Service also responded to emergencies and other incidents affecting postal operations. Staff coordinated the deployment of emergency equipment and supplies and assisted with damage assessments, recovery, and hazardous material removal. Postal Inspectors and Homeland Security Coordinators participated in responses to events occurring across the country: an Oklahoma blizzard in March; flooding in the Midwest in March and April; flooding in north Florida in April; flooding in Ohio and Pennsylvania in July; and Hurricanes Enrique and Felix in August.
