Audit finds USPS delayed security upgrades in Houston, putting some mail 'vulnerable to theft'
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Dozens of master keys in Houston were missing or considered "unverified" by the U.S. Postal Service, putting 20,740 cluster mailboxes at risk, according to a recent audit by the USPS Office of Inspector General.
Over the last year, 13 Investigates has been asking USPS what it's doing to secure residents' mail. In 2023, USPS announced it would be installing high-security collection boxes and electronic arrow keys, also known as master keys, to help prevent mail theft. But when we asked them last year, they would not tell us how many boxes they installed or how many electronic keys they started using.
Now, ABC13 is learning that the postal service installed 361 of the high-security boxes and 364 electronic arrow keys in Houston, but district management did not install them in a timely fashion. According to the audit, they also did not track the location of the high security boxes.
"Every delayed installation of these eLocks leaves carriers and older collection boxes vulnerable to theft," the audit says.
The three post offices the audit focused on are located at 11703 Beechnut Street in the 77072 zip code, 2909 Rogerdale Road in the 77042 zip code, and 1300 West 19th Street in the 77008 zip code.
The post offices were chosen "based on information obtained from the number of mail theft complaints in high-crime zip codes, according to the audit.
SEE ALSO: 13 Investigates uncovers hundreds of postal employees found culpable of stealing mail
The audit says at the Beechnut Station, 24% of their 122 arrow keys were missing or couldn't be verified, putting over 12,800 cluster boxes in three zip codes at risk.
One arrow key was missing from the Rogerdale Road station and 10 keys were missing from the 1300 West 19th Street location.
"Because arrow keys open mailboxes across an entire area or multiple ZIP Codes, damaged, lost or stolen keys can result in mail theft or the inability to collect or deliver mail," according to a USPS audit made public this week.
Federal auditors also found USPS has no system to track which mailboxes it actually owns, versus which ones are privately owned. That means when a cluster box is broken, residents are caught in a blame game between their HOA and the post office to figure out who will cover the repairs.
"Reliance is on local staff knowledge to determine the party responsible for maintaining the boxes," the audit says.
Last fiscal year, more than 438.5 million pieces of mail were processed across Houston.
During a 6-month period last year, USPS got 2,000 mail theft complaints from residents across Houston.
During that same timeframe, there were 27 active carrier robbery cases and 51 active mail theft cases in Houston.
The Postal Service is at increased risk of mail theft due to damaged boxes.USPS Office of Inspector General audit of three Houston post offices
Auditors also looked at a sample of blue collection boxes served by the three post offices they audited and found that 18% of the blue boxes had corrosion, cracks, or missing leg bolts.
Investigators examined a sample of cluster mailboxes served by the three post offices the audit centered around and found that 24% had problems.
The USPS audit says that without "annual inspections and routine maintenance of blue collection boxes and postal-owned CBUs, the Postal Service is at increased risk of mail theft due to damaged boxes."
13 Investigates asked the USPS' local spokesperson about the audit, but they referred us to their responses within the audit, which was made public this week. The audit shows that local USPS management agreed with 10 of the 11 recommendations made, including better training and documentation of new equipment used to keep mail safe.
They disagreed with the audit's recommendation to develop policies related to maintenance requests for the new high-security collection boxes and electronic master keys, saying that installations are determined by the USPS' Inspection Service in high-crime cities like Houston.
Contact 13 Investigates
Have a tip? A problem to solve? Send a tip below. If you don't have a photo or document to include, just hit 'skip upload' and send the details. (On mobile? You can open our form by tapping here.)
