USPS Struggles to Combat Rising Mail Theft and Neglects to Alert Customers

The USPS inspector general has criticized the agency's incomplete and insufficient plans to address the increasing incidents of mail theft across the country. The USPS's initiative, Project Safe Delivery, lacks milestones and timelines, leading to few concrete results. Surges of personnel in high-risk areas resulted in only three arrests and 277 recovered mail pieces. USPS is replacing "arrow" keys with electronic alternatives and deploying high-security mailboxes, but these efforts are limited due to funding constraints. The agency has not finalized an overall plan to address mail theft and is urged to develop a comprehensive strategy with costs, timelines, and metrics. The Postal Inspection Service is also called upon to finalize its mail theft strategic plan.