US Postal Inspectors

[oldsarge]

I think that this statement is stretching it a bit. Their (USPS) responsibility is focused on the integrity and security of the US Postal Service. Postal Inspectors do have federal law enforcement authority, they are federal agents, they do have arrest authority and they do carry guns, but it is not the same authority as the FBI.

Well then take a look at their website and you tell me what the FBI does BESIDES going after spys, that the Postal Inspectors don't do. I think you are in for a surprise. Their arrest authority is EXACTLY the same as well. As a matter of fact, the USPI is the oldest Federal law enforcement agency, even before the FBI came into being.

 

[oldsarge]

Thanks everyone. I never realized how serious of a business that is. It's actually pretty amazing if you think about it. Wow.

Thanks,
Nick

The irony of your posting is that your handle is 'trainman'. Way back in the 1800's when train robbery was the fashion of the day, the Postal Inspectors investigated those crimes. The FBI wasn't even a thought yet and Hoover wasn't even born yet. I THINK it was Benjamin Franklin who founded the Postal Inspection Service, but I'm guessing on this.

Now, find out what really happens to your mail when you deposit it in the mailbox. MOST people have no idea what's really behind that mailbox.

 

[oldsarge]

I believe that 407.775 is now a P25 repeater output for the US Postal Inspectors. 415.050 has also been heard in the P25 digital mode as well. 414.750 is still used by the Postal Inspectors as an interop. The 416.225 seems to mainly be used by the Postal Police, who are most active on the NYC Federal UHF Trunked System.

A comment about the Postal Police. The Postal Police were disbanded in a lot of cities a few years ago. Seattle was one of them. They had to take other jobs, transfer, or resign. Some actually took to custodian duties while others found a position with the Inspection Service.

Some large cities probably still have them employed. Seattle replaced them with rent-a-cops from Securitas Security. No guns, no guts. Just checking ID cards. If something happened in the facility, they were the first ones out the door.

So if you think you are hearing the Postal Police, take a drive by the facility that you think they are working in and take a look or ask questions. It very well could be the rent-a-cops.
The Union lost out big time on that issue.

 

[oldsarge]

Are "Postal Inspectors" and "Postal Police" the same thing?

No. They are as different as the city police and the FBI. Postal Police are responsible for the security of buildings and employees working inside, as well as escorting high value mail.

You won't find many Postal Police anymore since they were disbanded in a lot of cities about five or six years ago and replaced with rent-a-cops.

 

[oldsarge]

Postal Police work under the same umbrella as Inspectors but they have two different missions. Police are uniformed personnel. They mostly provide security, respond to incidents and escort high-value mail shipments. Inspectors are the equivalent of Federal Special Agents.

Damn. DejaVu. I posted a reply very similar to yours before reading yours. Yours was more to the point, while I dilly dallied around a bit. But we are both 100% correct.

People may wonder how I know so much. Just look at my sig.

 

[SCANdal]

In my eyes...these agencies are equals in standing

You won't find many Postal Police anymore since they were disbanded in a lot of cities about five or six years ago and replaced with rent-a-cops.

old,

Just an FYI, New York City was not one of those cities. The Postal Police is still very active here.

Regarding the debate/issue in Post # 21... the issue of when a given agency was created is irrelevent. I'll offer this to try and clear up what I believe is the source of the confusion in this thread... Postal Inspectors and FBI Special Agents both have very similair authorities (i.e. either one can slap cuffs on you and haul you off to jail, should they have probable cause) - it's their stated missions that are different. See Post #16 above for what the PIS does and click around http://www.fbi.gov/hq.htm for what the FBI does (special attention the hyperlinks under "Learn About Us " in the left column and the specializations in the right column). There are points of overlap, but the overall focus of the USPIS is, in fact, narrower then what the FBI is involved in.

SCANdal

 

[sflmonitor]

Well then take a look at their website and you tell me what the FBI does BESIDES going after spys, that the Postal Inspectors don't do. I think you are in for a surprise. Their arrest authority is EXACTLY the same as well. As a matter of fact, the USPI is the oldest Federal law enforcement agency, even before the FBI came into being.

This thread is going south fast. However, to answer your question, here is a short list of the FBI's responsibilities that are not enforced by the USPI: Civil Rights violations, public corruption, bank robberies, environmental crimes, Indian Country crimes, etc, etc.

 

[oldsarge]

old,

Just an FYI, New York City was not one of those cities. The Postal Police is still very active here.

Regarding the debate/issue in Post # 21... the issue of when a given agency was created is irrelevent. I'll offer this to try and clear up what I believe is the source of the confusion in this thread... Postal Inspectors and FBI Special Agents both have very similair authorities (i.e. either one can slap cuffs on you and haul you off to jail, should they have probable cause) - it's their stated missions that are different. See Post #16 above for what the PIS does and click around http://www.fbi.gov/hq.htm for what the FBI does (special attention the hyperlinks under "Learn About Us " in the left column and the specializations in the right column). There are points of overlap, but the overall focus of the USPIS is, in fact, narrower then what the FBI is involved in.

SCANdal

I'll go along with that. The FBI and the USPIS often work together on cases such as the unabomber case and the anthrax cases. A lot of what they do is the same although both have different mission statements. The authority for both departments are the same when it comes to jurisdictions and arrests. We had one Postal Police Officer PPO, take a laterial position in NYC. I know NYC was one of the cities that kept PPOs.

 

[W4KRR]

Here in south Florida I used to hear the Postal Inspectors on 414.750 and 415.050, but I haven't heard any activity in a while. Anyne know if they've changed frequencies here?

 

[hankv]

Way back in the 1800's when train robbery was the fashion of the day, the Postal Inspectors investigated those crimes. The FBI wasn't even a thought yet and Hoover wasn't even born yet. I THINK it was Benjamin Franklin who founded the Postal Inspection Service, but I'm guessing on this.

It was Ben Franklin (First Postmaster General) who created The Postal Inspection Service.

The term "inspector" was the only appropriate term in the 1700's - Detective, Investigator, Special Agent, etc. came along later.

It was the Postal Inspectors that chased Butch Cassedy and The Sundance Kid out of the US.

The Secret Service came along around The Civil War

The FBI in 1924

The CIA in the late 1940's

Now to get this thread back on topic - A few years ago I was scanning my local Sheriff's channel when several deputies were dispatched to assist a Postal Inspector in making an arrest - I got the impression it didn't go peacefully. I've also heard similar "assists" for the FBI

 

[oldsarge]

Here in south Florida I used to hear the Postal Inspectors on 414.750 and 415.050, but I haven't heard any activity in a while. Anyne know if they've changed frequencies here?

Depending on where they are, they could be transmitting but on low power. You would think at this time of the year, they would be very busy. I think they have switched their attention to inside crimes - in the Post Offices, since a lot of theft happens this time of the year and they are usually watching employees via cameras or from lookout galleries.

Business will pick up for them after the holidays when reports of mail theft OUTSIDE the system are reported, and mail fraud.

One of the latest scams I've heard about lately is Gift Cards. People will grab a few off a rack in a store and go someplace and write down the numbers and replace the cards. They will check online to see if the card has been purchased and if it has, spend the money. Nobody will know what happened until after Christmas when little Johnny and Sue go to Toys R Us to buy a toy with the card, only to find out there's no money left on it.
This isn't a Postal Inspection issue though. Just a little extra off topic crap from me to warn others of the scam. Pass the word.

 

[joetnymedic]

In CT, I haven't heard postal police or inspectors, I did see one of their chevy caprices way back in the day ( the older flying saucer shaped ones) I know that in wallingford,new haven, hartford and a couple of the other major cities, we have postal inspectors, but anything else is beyond me

 

[oldsarge]

In CT, I haven't heard postal police or inspectors, I did see one of their chevy caprices way back in the day ( the older flying saucer shaped ones) I know that in wallingford,new haven, hartford and a couple of the other major cities, we have postal inspectors, but anything else is beyond me

They don't have certain vehicles like the police do. They can be driving anything to include fancy sports cars. The tip off is the little antenna located on the trunk if they have a radio in the car. They also look like you, me, and everyone else. Hopefully you will never be contacted by one unless it's good news. We had our debit cards stolen before we even received them a few years ago. It was a long weekend, Columbus day. My wife checked our account and we were $7 in the hole and we had just been paid. After we took the required steps, we received ALL of our money back the following Tuesday. I spoke with a Postal Inspector at work and asked him about it. He said they know who is doing the stealing and where they are but they are hard to catch. That was a good encounter. We had a lady that used thousands of Easter Seals on a mass mailing thinking Postal workers wouldn't know the difference. Well all stamps have a certain chemical in the ink so the cancellation machines can tell if it's a real stamp or not. If not, it kicks it out in rejects.
That lady was paid a visit by the Inspectors, a not so nice visit, as she was placed under arrest for trying to cheat the Postal Service.

This is really getting off topic though. We are supposed to be discussing frequencies and monitoring. They also have high tech vans they use when snooping around. I saw one that even had a periscope device on the roof. Inside was full of equipment. Wish I could have found the frequencies on those radios.

 

[n3obl]

Pittsburgh, PA still has postal police. They have both CV's and impalas with lights on them.

Frank

 

[oldsarge]

I believe that 407.775 is now a P25 repeater output for the US Postal Inspectors. 415.050 has also been heard in the P25 digital mode as well. 414.750 is still used by the Postal Inspectors as an interop. The 416.225 seems to mainly be used by the Postal Police, who are most active on the NYC Federal UHF Trunked System.

Keep in mind that the Inspectors and PPO's come under the same boss but have different missions altogether. PPO's (Postal Police Officers) provide facility security at all Post Offices. You may not see one at your Post Office depending on it's size, but you can be sure that they do drive by and check throughout the day. They also provide security for employees in large facilities, although that's their mission, you will never hear of any getting involved in a Postal shooting unless they start it. They evacuate the building after they have tried getting everyone else out. No sense in hanging around with a nutcase running around with an Uzi. They break up employee fights and escort unruly employees out the door (common during Christmas rush, mainly for temporary employees). They also provide security for all high value mail going by road which incidently is only between the Postal facility and airport. No high value mail travels via road other than that. When I worked in Seattle at the airport, the high value mail consisted of gold nuggets from the gold fields and furs. Don't know what kind of furs since they were locked up in sealed containers.

If you see the Postal Police in their marked cars going down the street, follow them awhile with 'close call' working to see if you can pick them up when they transmit. There are so many Postal frequencies, it's mostly hit and miss.

 

[Gilligan]

There are so many Postal frequencies, it's mostly hit and miss.

Yea, really. They seem to be anywhere from 407-415 and then around 419 as well... Not quite as easy to snag as GSA or DEA, for example.

 

[joetnymedic]

found this online about usps going p-25

Postal Inspectors Continue P-25 Upgrades

While searching through the federal UHF band (406.1 to 420 MHz), I often run in to frequencies used by the US Postal Inspection Service. The most common channels used by the Postal Inspectors have been 414.7250, 414.7500 and 415.0500 MHz. However many cities are in the process of upgrading to P-25 digital radio systems and many cities have changed frequencies. The Postal Inspection Service has also moved to 2 regional dispatch centers that they are calling NLECC, or National Law Enforcement Control Centers. Many listeners have reported hearing NLECC (heard as"En-Leck") calling various "IDA" units in the field.

This week I am hearing NLECC Fort Worth doing some radio tests in the Portland, Oregon area on 407.1375 MHz. This frequency has been noted in the past with occasional traffic, but was always encrypted. So far most of these tests with NLECC Fort Worth and Portland have been in the clear, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Also have confirmation of the Postal Inspectors repeater in the Boston area, 409.9375 MHz with an input of 418.9375 MHz.

posted by Chris Parris at 12:14 PM

 

[Stavro35]

Seattle area?

With all this talk of postal inspector's, does anyone have information for them in the Seattle Washington area?

 

[APX8000]

It was Ben Franklin (First Postmaster General) who created The Postal Inspection Service.

The term "inspector" was the only appropriate term in the 1700's - Detective, Investigator, Special Agent, etc. came along later.

It was the Postal Inspectors that chased Butch Cassedy and The Sundance Kid out of the US.

The Secret Service came along around The Civil War

The FBI in 1924

The CIA in the late 1940's

Just a FYI...the U.S. Customs Service was the oldest law enforcement agency, created in 1789. It has since been absored by the Department of Homeland Security (March of 2003) and is now called ICE (Special Agents) and CBP (Officers).

 

[sflmonitor]

While on the subject, let's not forget the US Marshals. They were created by the first Congress in 1789.