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RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND mono- graphs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Lois M. Davis, Michael Pollard, Jeremiah Goulka, Katherine Mack, Russell Lundberg, Paul Steinberg Sponsored by the United States Postal Service A RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM Safety and Justice The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Monopoly The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R ® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2008 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2008 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org This research was sponsored by the United States Postal Service and was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment (ISE). Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data The role of the United States Postal Service in public safety and security : implications of relaxing the mailbox monopoly / Lois M. Davis [et al.]. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-8330-4615-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. United States Postal Service. 2. Postal service—United States—Safety measures. I. Davis, Lois M. HE6371.R58 2008 363.1—dc22 2008044821 iii Preface e United States Postal Service (USPS) has long held statutory monopolies to deliver mail and to require that only U.S. mail be deliv- ered to the mailbox. While the USPS has defended its monopolies as necessary to fulfill its mission to provide service to every delivery point in the United States, several critics have argued against the monopo- lies, primarily on economic, antimonopoly grounds related to leveling the playing field for other competitors and on property rights grounds for mailbox owners. However, sometimes lost in the economic debate surrounding the monopolies is the fact that relaxing the monopolies may have ramifications in other areas—in particular, public safety and security. When it comes to delivering mail, there are several possible public safety and security concerns, including, for example, mail fraud, identity theft, and even terrorism, as demonstrated by prior use of the mail to send letter bombs and anthrax. Given the potential public safety and security concerns, the USPS asked the RAND Corporation to assess the security implications of relaxing the USPS’s monopoly on delivering to the mailbox (known variously as the Mailbox Restriction, the Mailbox Rule, or the Mailbox Monopoly) to allow private couriers to deliver directly to mailboxes as well. Specifically, the project addresses whether relaxing the Mailbox Rule would present a public safety risk to carriers, couriers, and cus- tomers. To do so, RAND researchers used a combination of qualitative analyses (e.g., literature review, key-actor interviews with USPS staff and external experts, and a survey of consumers) and descriptive quan- titative analyses (e.g., of incident databases collected by the United iv The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security States Postal Inspection Service, or IS). However, it is important to note that all of our statements with regard to private couriers and com- parisons to the USPS are based solely on publicly available documents and some suggestive data from the IS incident database. Without other detailed, direct information from the couriers, similar to that provided by the USPS, we can only infer what their current capacity is for man- aging safety and security issues in the processing and delivery process. is research should be of interest to policymakers, Congress, and the private sector. The RAND Safety and Justice Program is research was conducted under the auspices of the Safety and Justice Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environ- ment (ISE). e mission of RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Envi- ronment is to improve the development, operation, use, and protec- tion of society’s essential physical assets and natural resources and to enhance the related social assets of safety and security of individuals in transit and in their workplaces and communities. Safety and Justice Program research addresses occupational safety, transportation safety, food safety, and public safety—including violence, policing, correc- tions, substance abuse, and public integrity. Questions or comments about this monograph should be sent to the project leader, Lois Davis (Lois_Davis@rand.org). Information about the Safety and Justice Program is available online (http://www. rand.org/ise/safety). Inquiries about research projects should be sent to the following address: Greg Ridgeway, Acting Director Safety and Justice Program, ISE RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 310-393-0411, x7734 Greg_Ridgeway@rand.org v Contents Preface iii Figures ix Tables xi Summary xiii Acknowledgments xxiii Abbreviations xxv CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 Background 1 Study Approach 2 Study Limitations 3 Organization of is Monograph 5 CHAPTER TWO e USPS’s Monopolies and Its Role in Public Safety 7 Introduction to the USPS Monopolies 7 e Mailbox Rule 8 e Postal Monopoly 9 What Happens If the Mailbox Rule Is Relaxed? 11 e Public Safety and Security Roles of the USPS and Private Couriers 14 National Response Framework and Cities Readiness Initiative 14 National Infrastructure Protection Plan 15 Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism 15 Carrier Alert 16 vi The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Public Safety Education and Awareness 16 e Role of the IS in Public Safety and Security 20 CHAPTER THREE Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Public Safety and Security Incidents 23 Types of Security Incidents and Trends 24 Volume Attacks 26 Fraud 29 Financial Crime 32 Suspicious Incidents 36 Improvised Explosive Devices (Bombs) 40 Differences Between the USPS and Private Courier Companies in Training, Public Accountability, and Oversight 41 Federal Regulations at Apply to Both the USPS and Private Couriers 42 Differences in Training 43 Differences in Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms 57 Security Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Rule 59 General Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox Rule 59 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Implications for Security Incidents 61 Summary 65 CHAPTER FOUR Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on the IS’s Ability to Detect, Deter, and Investigate Crime 67 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Federal Jurisdiction Over Mail 68 “Mail” and the Mailbox 68 Diversion of Mail to Private Couriers 72 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Investigation Costs 75 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on Tracking Trends in Mail Crime 76 Relaxing the Mailbox Rule: Effect on the Ability to Deter Crime 78 Does Enforcement of the Mailbox Rule Deter the Acts It Proscribes? 78 Does Enforcement Deter Crimes at the Mailbox? 80 Do the USPS and IS Deter Crimes at Might Be Diverted to Private Couriers? 81 Contents vii Summary 83 CHAPTER FIVE Public Perceptions About Relaxing the Mailbox Rule 85 Methods 86 Key Survey Findings 88 Most Respondents Have a Positive Perception of the USPS 88 Most Respondents Oppose Removing the Mailbox Rule 90 Security Is One Concern Among Many 95 Households More Likely to Be Affected Are Less Opposed 102 Summary 106 CHAPTER SIX Conclusions and Issues for Further Consideration 109 Conclusions 109 Issues to Be Considered If the Mailbox Rule Were Relaxed 112 APPENDIXES A. Methods 115 B. Detailed Tables of Incidents 127 C. Guidelines and Training 145 D. Differences Between FTC and IS Fraud Data 177 References 181 [...]... evaluate the quality of the training provided; rather, our focus was on assessing what type of training and public safety and security precautions are taken to safeguard the mail, postal employees, and customers In addi- 4 The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security tion, because this monograph focuses primarily on the public safety and security implications of opening up... would be important to quantify the hypothesized impact that relaxing the Mailbox Rule may have on public safety and mail crime Having such information would, in turn, be cru- xxii The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security cial in determining the soundness of relaxing the Mailbox Rule and in designing a national implementation Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank... Public Safety and Security Incidents Based on our descriptive analysis of the reported-incident databases (which identified security- related incidents by urban/rural splits and household income) and in conjunction with our assessments of key xvi The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security differences in training, accountability, and oversight between the USPS and private... example, of eight foreign postal administrations surveyed by the GAO (1997), two countries reported that the majority of their residents used mail slots in doors or walls, and another country reported the use of a higher proportion of locked mailboxes than are used in the United States 6 The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Chapter Five summarizes the results of literature... ramifications in other areas in particular, public safety and security When it comes to delivering mail, there are several significant public safety and security concerns—including, for example, mail fraud, identify theft, and even terrorism, given the previous use of the mail to send letter bombs and anthrax Given the potential public safety and security concerns, the USPS asked the RAND Corporation to assess the. .. couriers and the number of carriers involved in deliveries, security and safety may also decrease in other ways In our view, mailrelated financial crimes and explosives-related incidents may increase, as might the delivery of suspicious items (that might cause harm or fright) to consumers due to differences in training and in the number of personnel delivering to the mailbox Further, training on the USPS... broad, non– security- related terms if the Mailbox Rule were to be relaxed The chapter also provides an overview of the USPS role in security and public safety, as well as the role of the major private couriers Chapters Three and Four focus on the public safety and security implications that relaxing the Mailbox Rule might have on the USPS’s ability to prevent the occurrence of security incidents and to... concept that is also called the Mailbox Rule 1 2 The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security project addresses whether relaxing the Mailbox Rule would present a public safety risk to carriers, couriers, or customers The study scope focused specifically on examining the public safety and security issues related to any proposal to relax the Mailbox Rule.2 The USPS has contracted... relaxation of the Postal Monopoly, part of this monograph’s analysis logically extends to the general relaxation of the Postal Monopoly Introduction 3 investigation and prosecution of serious crimes by examining federal criminal laws to determine how federal criminal jurisdiction would be affected by relaxing the Mailbox Rule; and (5) examine the experience of other countries in particular, the United Kingdom,... jurisdictional and territorial issues to address in each investigation Relaxing the Mailbox Rule would also reduce the IS’s visibility into national mail-crime trends because it would shrink the amount and consistency of information available xviii The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Finally, although the Mailbox Rule generally has negligible deterrent effect against crime, . Service A RAND INFRASTRUCTURE, SAFETY, AND ENVIRONMENT PROGRAM Safety and Justice The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Implications of Relaxing the Mailbox. security- related incidents by urban/rural splits and household income) and in conjunction with our assessments of key xvi The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security differences. because it would shrink the amount and consistency of information available. xviii The Role of the United States Postal Service in Public Safety and Security Finally, although the Mailbox Rule