The end of March was the midpoint of the federal fiscal year. It’s a standard point for Inspectors General, including us, to look back at what we have accomplished so far in our Semiannual Report to Congress, or what we refer to as our SARC.

This report, which is issued to Congress and available to the public, is an update of what we have done for the first six months of the fiscal year. In addition to statistics, we include an in-depth look at five key areas of our work that is of interest to postal stakeholders:  narcotics, mail theft, the Delivering for America plan, service performance, and labor issues. 

Our auditors and researchers have been very busy as the Postal Service makes changes to its mail processing, transportation, and delivery networks. We issued 59 reports, including audits, management advisories, and white papers, with a total monetary impact of more than $88.6 million. The reports made 168 recommendations to the Postal Service for improvements, and USPS accepted 88 percent of them.

On the investigative side, our agents completed 1,520 investigations that led to 304 arrests and more than $28 million in fines, restitution, and recoveries, half of which was returned to the Postal Service. Our Hotline handled more than 102,000 contacts.

Check out our full report or, if you prefer a more hands-on approach, see our digital story, and let us know what you think in the comments below.