U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law Enforcement

[Meezer]

“It’s a treasure trove of information,” said James J. Wedick, a former F.B.I. agent who spent 34 years at the agency and who said he used mail covers in a number of investigations, including one that led to the prosecution of several elected officials in California on corruption charges. “Looking at just the outside of letters and other mail, I can see who you bank with, who you communicate with — all kinds of useful information that gives investigators leads that they can then follow up on with a subpoena.”
But, he said: “It can be easily abused because it’s so easy to use and you don’t have to go through a judge to get the information. You just fill out a form.”


For mail cover requests, law enforcement agencies submit a letter to the Postal Service, which can grant or deny a request without judicial review. Law enforcement officials say the Postal Service rarely denies a request. In other government surveillance programs, like wiretaps, a federal judge must sign off on the requests.


The mail cover surveillance requests are granted for about 30 days, and can be extended for up to 120 days. There are two kinds of mail covers: those related to criminal activity and those requested to protect national security. Criminal activity requests average 15,000 to 20,000 per year, said law enforcement officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they are prohibited by law from discussing them. The number of requests for antiterrorism mail covers has not been made public.
Law enforcement officials need warrants to open the mail, although President George W. Bush asserted in a signing statement in 2007 that the federal government had the authority to open mail without warrants in emergencies or in foreign intelligence cases.


Court challenges to mail covers have generally failed because judges have ruled that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy for information contained on the outside of a letter. Officials in both the Bush and Obama administrations, in fact, have used the mail-cover court rulings to justify the N.S.A.’s surveillance programs, saying the electronic monitoring amounts to the same thing as a mail cover. Congress briefly conducted hearings on mail cover programs in 1976, but has not revisited the issue.



http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/04/us/monitoring-of-snail-mail.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Sure, this is why the Postal Inspectors have such an incredibly high conviction rate.

I thought people knew not to use return addresses?

 

[Ketchup]

How can one expect the outside of a letter to be private?

 

[AtTheMurph]

How can one expect the outside of a letter to be private?

I can expect that my government does not collect this data without a warrant as expressly laid out by this thing called the 4th Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Our government is only supposed to have the powers that We the People granted to it. I have never seen a power to collect information on my mailing habits. Nor have I seen a power to collect data on who I call, when I call and from where I call. I also haven't seen a power to collect data on what I buy, what guns I own, where I shop, what books I check out from the library but apparently the government is doing that too.

 

[Mark 1911]

Wait. How is it that can they afford to play big brother, but can not afford to continue Saturday mail delivery??

 

[rambone]

Mail Isolation Control and Tracking program, in which Postal Service computers photograph the exterior of every piece of paper mail that is processed in the United States — about 160 billion pieces last year.

No one disputes that it is sweeping.

 

[Destro]

im sure my mailman knows more about me than anybody...

 

[Leo]

I would guess if you subscribe to Soldier of Fortune, Leatherneck, The Rolling Stone, Mother Earth News and Pravda, they already have your name in a file somewhere. Throw in a couple letters from Latin America a week, and they probably have someone on payroll watching your house.

Since "He" is so interested, I am grilling some food this afternoon, Big Brother is welcome to come by for dinner, I love a family picnic, especially on Independence Day!

 

[Scorpio]

I can expect that my government does not collect this data without a warrant as expressly laid out by this thing called the 4th Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Our government is only supposed to have the powers that We the People granted to it. I have never seen a power to collect information on my mailing habits. Nor have I seen a power to collect data on who I call, when I call and from where I call. I also haven't seen a power to collect data on what I buy, what guns I own, where I shop, what books I check out from the library but apparently the government is doing that too.

I doubt that the courts would find the photographing of the outside of a letter or parcel to be a search or a seizure. Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy for the outside of an envelope going through the hands of dozens of strangers in the postal system? I'm speaking only of the outside of the envelope, not the contents.

 

[Trigger Time]

So since some dumb ass judge ruled that the outside of a package or envelope is fair game and there is no expectation of privacy , how's come I put my letter into a secure blue box or hand it to a postal employee with the expectation of them taking care and securing my personal papers and correspondence?!!!!
So then it's legal for me to dig through another persons mailbox or walk into the post office and demand to look through the letter bag to satisfy my curiosity or maybe I want to make sure my neighbors don't have a subscription to playboy magazine that I don't want my child accidentally seeing while visiting them!?

This is bull ****!!!! This is a direct intrusion of our Liberties. I expect law enforcement/government will violate liberty and not protect it.

This is not a put down to individuals who have never violated rights or liberties but the organizations and govt themselves cannot be trusted by the citizens. It's a shame this is the state of things we are living in.

Besides secret govt spying programs, local law enforcement an especially federal law enforcement has always led the way on spying on the citizens. When the time eventually comes I'm sure the ones that come to try and take our guns will be wearing badges and not a military patch. As we see in other states. Sure some individuals won't but they will be relieve of their duties and another will take their spot.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I doubt that the courts would find the photographing of the outside of a letter or parcel to be a search or a seizure. Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy for the outside of an envelope going through the hands of dozens of strangers in the postal system? I'm speaking only of the outside of the envelope, not the contents.

The argument can be made, but the same basic argument could be made for assorted .gov personnel peeping in your windows should you fail to close the curtains and blinds completely. You entrust your mail to the postal service to perform a service which has been agreed upon, not to share what information it can gather with personnel outside the postal service.

 

[Trigger Time]

I doubt that the courts would find the photographing of the outside of a letter or parcel to be a search or a seizure. Is there a reasonable expectation of privacy for the outside of an envelope going through the hands of dozens of strangers in the postal system? I'm speaking only of the outside of the envelope, not the contents.

Employees of the postal service are not the same as strangers. They are contracted merchants who are paid by us to securely transport our personal papers and effects. Which are mentioned in the constitution as protected items.

So by your reasoning the TSA are just random strangers feeling me up? No they are agents of the govt paid to molest people in the name of false security.

Look at all the other corrupt regimes in the history of the world. They always turn the people against each other to spy on one another for the govt.

 

[tirebay1997]

I'm sure they do it for the children.

 

[IndyDave1776]

I'm sure they do it for the children.

Yes, they do it for the children's secure future of slaves under an Orwellian government.

 

[Scorpio]

The argument can be made, but the same basic argument could be made for assorted .gov personnel peeping in your windows should you fail to close the curtains and blinds completely. You entrust your mail to the postal service to perform a service which has been agreed upon, not to share what information it can gather with personnel outside the postal service.

The same basic argument has been made in the courts, successfully, that there is no expectation of privacy with regards to what can be seen in your open windows, so long as it can be seen from a public place. This is, however, a completely different scenario than someone mailing a letter, and thus despite some similarities, the comparison of the two results in somewhat of a straw man.

 

[Scorpio]

Employees of the postal service are not the same as strangers. They are contracted merchants who are paid by us to securely transport our personal papers and effects. Which are mentioned in the constitution as protected items.

So by your reasoning the TSA are just random strangers feeling me up? No they are agents of the govt paid to molest people in the name of false security.

Look at all the other corrupt regimes in the history of the world. They always turn the people against each other to spy on one another for the govt.

Postal workers are federal government agents, not contracted merchants. USPS is a federal agency, although it is somewhat of a hybrid of public and private with its unique function and operation. Papers are mentioned in the 4th amendment, but the argument will inevitably be based on the reasonableness of collecting the information from the outside of an envelope or parcel, not whether a particular item is mentioned or not. Also, I am doubting that the photograph of the outside of an envelope will be considered a search or seizure.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong for the government to be doing this. I am saying that there are legitimate arguments to be made over whether the 4th amendment applies to the photographing of the outside of an envelope that has been submitted to a federal agency for transport to another individual.

What "search" has been conducted, and what "seizure" has been made?

 

[IndyDave1776]

The same basic argument has been made in the courts, successfully, that there is no expectation of privacy with regards to what can be seen in your open windows, so long as it can be seen from a public place. This is, however, a completely different scenario than someone mailing a letter, and thus despite some similarities, the comparison of the two results in somewhat of a straw man.

You have opened another issue, but I fail to see the argument for a reasonable expectation that people I pay to do a job should forward information to others secretly without my knowledge or consent. The primary reason this nonsense happens is because we tolerate it.

I would also point out that Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis summarized the Fourth Amendment as the right to be left alone. It seems that the courts have strayed far from this idea.

 

[Trigger Time]

If the people do not want it then the gubment shouldn't do it.

 

[IndyDave1776]

Postal workers are federal government agents, not contracted merchants. USPS is a federal agency, although it is somewhat of a hybrid of public and private with its unique function and operation. Papers are mentioned in the 4th amendment, but the argument will inevitably be based on the reasonableness of collecting the information from the outside of an envelope or parcel, not whether a particular item is mentioned or not. Also, I am doubting that the photograph of the outside of an envelope will be considered a search or seizure.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong for the government to be doing this. I am saying that there are legitimate arguments to be made over whether the 4th amendment applies to the photographing of the outside of an envelope that has been submitted to a federal agency for transport to another individual.

What "search" has been conducted, and what "seizure" has been made?

You are missing the point. We pay the **********s to deliver our mail, not spy on us. If you are willing to accept such a standard, why not simply take your demotion to subject now? Government spying needs to be stopped immediately and thoroughly aside from specific persons, places, and things under the supervision of a court as enumerated in the Fourth Amendment. As with a number of popular infringements, popular belief and/or judicial malfeasance do not change the Constitution.

 

[in625shooter]

Postal workers are federal government agents, not contracted merchants. USPS is a federal agency, although it is somewhat of a hybrid of public and private with its unique function and operation. Papers are mentioned in the 4th amendment, but the argument will inevitably be based on the reasonableness of collecting the information from the outside of an envelope or parcel, not whether a particular item is mentioned or not. Also, I am doubting that the photograph of the outside of an envelope will be considered a search or seizure.

I'm not saying that it's right or wrong for the government to be doing this. I am saying that there are legitimate arguments to be made over whether the 4th amendment applies to the photographing of the outside of an envelope that has been submitted to a federal agency for transport to another individual.

What "search" has been conducted, and what "seizure" has been made?

Actually post Office employees are NOT Federal Government employees but a private entity second in numbers of employees behind the Federal Government and Walmart (go figure) The Post Office has it's own separate retirement plan and is funded in most cases by self generated profits from services. However it is considered a Federal crime to interfere with any US Post Office employee due to the mail has to do with interstate commerce.