Missing mailbox keys show lax security in Sacramento area, USPS audit reveals
A U.S. Postal Service audit found deficiencies in the tracking and safeguarding of universal keys that carriers use to open mail boxes at three postal offices in Sacramento County.
Rep. Ami Bera, D-Sacramento, said the postal service audit findings, published March 20, “are completely unacceptable.”
“The audit identified serious systemic issues including missing and unaccounted-for arrow keys, inadequate oversight and a troubling lack of mandatory inspections,” Bera said Thursday in a news release. “The Postal Service must immediately implement the Inspector General’s recommendations to restore public trust and ensure that Sacramento County residents have the secure and reliable mail services they deserve.”
In a July 26 letter, Bera requested the USPS audit after his office was “inundated with reports from constituents regarding the theft and vandalism of cluster mailboxes.”
USPS uses a universal key, also known as an arrow key, to open mail collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, cluster box units and apartment panels. Supervisors assign these keys — generally one per route — to mail carriers for use on over 300,000 delivery and collection routes each day, according to USPS. Carriers and collectors must always keep arrow keys secured and attached to their belts or clothing by a chain while on duty and return them at the end of each day.
Thieves use stolen arrow keys to open mail boxes. Thieves can steal mail by fishing or breaking into mail boxes with force, package theft and robbing mail carriers.
In fiscal year 2024, more than three billion pieces of mail volume were processed in the Sacramento area, according to USPS.
From March 1 through Aug. 31, 2024, in the Sacramento area, 1,207 mailboxes and cluster box units were reportedly tampered with, 1,011 pieces of mail were reported missing. 978 packages were reported missing, 728 pieces of mail were reported stolen and 487 packages were reported stolen, USPS data shows.
The audit examined three postal offices: the Sacramento Main Post Office on Royal Oaks Drive, the Fort Sutter Station on Alhambra Boulevard and the Rancho Cordova Post Office on Progress Court. The audit found that postal employees at these three locations “did not properly track their arrow key inventories.”
At the Sacramento Main Post Office, the audit found 129 of the 372 arrow keys were either missing or could not be verified, which left mail boxes across eight zip codes in Sacramento at risk. There were also 87 additional arrow keys not recorded as required in the USPS Retail and Delivery Analytics and Reports, 50 arrow keys were damaged but sent to the National Material Customer Service as required and one arrow key was found on-site classified as “lost” but not reported to the Postal Inspection Service as required.
At the Fort Sutter Station, 21 of the 102 arrow keys were missing or could not be verified, leaving mail boxes across three zip codes in Sacramento at risk. There also were 25 additional arrow keys not recorded, four damaged arrow keys and six lost arrows keys not reported.
At the Rancho Cordova Main Post Office, three of 97 arrow keys were missing or could not be verified, leaving mail boxes in one zip code at risk. There also were 29 arrow keys not recorded and 37 arrow keys damaged.
The audit also found that USPS does not track whether cluster box units are owned by the postal service or owned privately, and postal employees rely on local staff to determine who is responsible for maintaining those mail boxes.
Most of the blue mail collection boxes and cluster box units reviewed in the audit were generally in good condition, however local management at the three postal offices visited did not perform annual safety inspections of blue collection boxes and cluster box units.
The audit recommended the area district manager confirm all arrow keys are accurately recorded and returned when necessary, establish internal controls to verify facilities are following the 24-hour arrow key accountability process, provide regularly recurring training on arrow key accountability processes, security policies, and responsibilities to managers and supervisors in the Sacramento area.
Other recommendations included establishing a policy that requires the recording and tracking of cluster box unit ownership and developing and maintaining a repository of cluster box units to include ownership and applicable agreements.
In the news release, Bera’s representatives said they will closely monitor the postal service’s progress in addressing these issues to ensure mail is delivered securely and on time.
