Postal police officer says force is unable to patrol despite crimes against mail carriers increasing

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- 7 On Your Side Investigates has been tracking an increase in crimes against carriers and in stolen mailbox keys.

Eyewitness News mapped the crimes. More than 100 physical assaults in Queens over the past five years, 42 robberies in Manhattan, and 11 burglaries in Brooklyn.

"They're robbing letter carriers, they're sticking a gun in a letter carrier's face and they're demanding arrow keys," said Frank Albergo, a postal police officer who's the president of the National Postal Police Union.

"Right now mail is being stolen, letter carriers are being attacked, identities are stolen, bank accounts drained and the Postal Service has a police force that it refuses to use," Albergo said. "Postal police are basically on the sideline watching this debacle unfold."

There are 450 postal police officers across the country. They're armed and uniformed officers. Back in 2020, the Postmaster General restricted them to protect postal property, not to hit the streets and investigate crimes outside of post office facilities.

"We're stuck in buildings, we're protecting buildings instead of the people and the mail," Albergo said.

Lawmakers have introduced multiple bills in an effort to change that but none have been enacted into law.

"There's a lot that could be done that's not being done," Albergo said.

In a long statement, the Postal Service said the views of the postal police union are "legally and factually incorrect," and has taken "significant action" to combat crime.

Here's their full statement:

"Various public statements made by the Postal Police Officers Association supporting the claim that the Postal Service is actively preventing the utilization of a uniformed federal police force are legally and factually incorrect. Postal Police officers (PPOs) are assigned to specific facilities because the Postal Inspection Service has determined that these facilities require a high level of security that can be provided by the presence of uniformed, trained, and armed officers.

At key facilities in 20 major metropolitan areas, PPOs are deployed to provide security, enforce order, respond to medical emergencies, and act as a deterrent to criminals or employees who may wish to compromise the mailstream or potentially harm the people inside. These postal facilities are the workplaces of thousands of postal employees, and they process millions of pieces of mail and packages every day.

Removing those officers from Postal Service property, where a significant concentration of employees and mail exists, would put at risk not only postal facilities, but the large concentration of employees and customers who use those facilities every day. Additionally, there have been questions regarding the jurisdictional authority of PPOs. Contrary to the assertions made, neither any court nor arbitrator has contested the Postal Service's interpretation that the law enforcement authority of PPOs is confined to the protection of Postal Service real property. This conclusion has remained unchallenged. In fact, in 2020, a federal court affirmed, in response to opposing claims, that the Postal Service's determination of PPOs' jurisdiction was a reasonable interpretation of the law. And, even if the law permitted PPOs to exercise jurisdiction beyond the boundaries of the Postal Service's property, relocating these officers from Postal Service property, as suggested by some, would not only jeopardize the security of the postal facilities but also pose a risk to the employees and customers who utilize these facilities daily.

The Postal Inspection Service utilizes postal inspectors, along with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, to investigate and prevent postal-related crimes both on and off Postal Service property. Postal inspectors and PPOs are different positions within the Postal Inspection Service, with differing statutory authority. While both are essential to keeping employees, customers, and the mailstream safe - their roles and responsibilities are vastly different. While PPOs protect postal employees and customers at postal facilities, postal inspectors work diligently to ensure the integrity of the mailstream and combat postal-related crimes nationwide, especially robberies of letter carriers.

The Postmaster General and the Chief Postal Inspector have taken significant action to counter mail crimes-including the launch of Project Safe Delivery in May 2023. The program's proactive approach has led to a significant decrease in robbery and mail theft incidents. The program's robust measures have led to hundreds of arrests for Postal robberies and thousands of arrests for mail theft. For instance, the number of robberies has decreased 27% Fy 2023 to Fy 2024. Additional information on Project Safe Delivery can be found at Project Safe Delivery - United States Postal Inspection Service (uspis.gov).

The Postal Service is steadfastly committed to its mission of providing reliable and secure mail services to the American people while ensuring the safety of its employees."

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