Some police agencies and federal agents have allegedly been able to look for information on people's mail without a court order.

The Washington Post reported that since 2015, Postal Service officials got more than 60,000 requests with 97% of them getting approved. Also, postal inspectors recorded more than 312,000 letters and packages between 2015 and 2023.

The Post report found that federal agencies, including the IRS, FBI and Department of Homeland Security, along with state and local forces made around 6,700 requests a year.

The "mail covers program" is a surveillance technique legally used by postal inspectors that allows them to track down suspects or look for evidence, but it only allows them to look outside of the mail. Through the Fourth Amendment, a warrant is required to look inside a letter or package.

Now retired Captain of the Houston Police Department Greg Fremin said he would be shocked if the Postal Service was allowing different agencies to do this without the obtainment of a warrant.

"To go into someone's mail, or even a mailbox, you're going to need a court order to do that, because there's a reasonable expectation of privacy," he said.

In a May 2023 letter from eight senators, including Rand Paul, R-Ky. and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., they wanted the agency to require a federal judge to approve the requests and for more information to be shared on the program. However the policy has not been changed.

Fremin spent over 30 years with HPD. The report raised his eyebrows.

"I just would be real curious to know what is the specific nature of the request," said Fremin. "What do they want?"