Yet Another Privacy Invasion by Law Enforcement: Mail
The Washington Post startled people across the country when its report about the ability of law enforcement to access letters and packages in the U. S. Post Office. The report details the ways in which thousands of pieces of mail have been studied over the last ten years as information related to criminal investigations is gleaned from the outside of mail.
What We Know
It’s a legal practice that is commonly referred to as the mail covers program. According to postal inspectors, over 160,000 requests from federal law enforcement have been received in the past four years, and the Postal Service is loath to turn down such requests, essentially rubber-stamping requests. They say federal agents wish to monitor mail when they think it could help them to locate evidence, fugitives and/or to solve crimes. It’s a warrantless operation—looking inside the mail does require a warrant, however. How, exactly, the postal service complies with federal requests is not revealed by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, since they believe sharing such information might impact the effectiveness of the program by clueing in criminals to the procedures.
Who Makes the Requests?
Multiple federal agencies have a history of making requests to monitor mail, with Homeland Security, the FBI, and the IRS leading in requests. A bi-partisan group of senators is attempting to require approval from a federal judge in order to obtain this kind of information, in addition to trying to get more transparency with all things related to mail monitoring. They believe it’s un-American to hide the facts from Americans who may have been subjects of this type of monitoring. Gary Barksdale, the chief postal inspector, defended the practice, saying the legal authorization of mail monitoring has been in existence since 1879, and Americans cannot reasonably expect privacy when it comes to information on the outside of their mail.
What Can be Gleaned from the Outside?
Critics of the program believe it is inappropriate for monitors to learn anything by looking at private mail. It’s possible to learn myriad bits of information this way—sometimes even more than could be learned by surveilling a suspect’s actual movements– including:
- Who one communicates with;
- What bills one pays;
- Social and political affiliations;
- Religious information.
OIG Recommendations
According to the Office of Inspector General, there are problems with the current system, but not problems that are impossible to address. Their recommendations include:
- Creating procedures to track these documents;
- Holding agencies accountable to return documents;
- Having training required to individuals involved with mail covers;
- Studying the use of spreadsheets and other methods of tracking mail to determine the impact of these things on security of information.
Notably, none of the recommendations involve eliminating the program altogether.
Your Legal Advocate
Do you have concerns about the ways in which authorities have colluded to pin crimes on you? The experienced Las Vegas criminal defense attorneys at Lobo Law always fight for the best outcomes for you. Schedule a confidential consultation today.
Source:
washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/06/24/post-office-mail-surveillance-law-enforcement/
