interest in pursuing producers of counterfeit stamps. International Investigations and Global Security: This investigative function ensures that international mail is secured and any international business decisions and campaigns remains safe and secure. USPIS maintains investigators in the US and in posts around the world for protection, liaison, and intelligence. Joint Task Force Investigations: USPIS participates in joint task force investigations where laws applicable to the mail service are involved. These cases are often wide-ranging and involve every law enforcement agency of the federal government. For example, USPIS participated in the largest count indictment and conviction in NASA history, the Omniplan case, that put seven companies out of business and ended with the conviction of Omniplan owner, Ralph Montijo, on 179 federal crimes. The Postal Inspection Service's Technical Services Unit (TSU) provides investigative support through the use of new technology and the operations of two national communication centers known as the National Law Enforcement Control Centers (NLECC). In 2003, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement renamed their national communication center, previously known as "Sector" to the "National Law Enforcement Communications Center" (also known as NLECC). USPIS NLECC and ICE NLECC are two independent federal law enforcement radio communications centers that coincidentally share the same acronym and an almost identical name. USPS Forensic Laboratory The U.S. Postal Inspection Service first established a crime lab in 1940. Today, the main USPS Forensic Laboratory is located in Dulles, Virginia in a two-story, 44,000-square-foot facility. The lab is staffed by forensic scientists and technical experts and consists of four units: the Questioned Documents Unit, the Fingerprint Unit, the Physical Sciences Unit, and the Digital Evidence Unit. The laboratory is overseen by a laboratory director, and each of the four units is overseen by an assistant laboratory director. There are also four satellite offices, located in New York, Chicago, Memphis, and San Francisco. In 2012, the entire U.S. Postal Inspection Service laboratory system had 65 employees (58 scientific staff and seven administrative staff), mostly based in the main Dulles lab. Police force In addition to maintaining a staff of postal inspectors, the Postal Inspection Service has a uniformed force of Postal Police Officers who provide security service at major postal facilities throughout the United States, conduct perimeter security, escort high-value mail shipments, and perform other essential security functions. As of 2018 there were approximately 500 postal police officers. As of 2022 that number has been reduced to