CUSTOMS CHANGING POLICY ON PASSENGER SEARCHES

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Dogged by investigations and lawsuits alleging abusive
searches, the Customs Service said today that it will obtain the approval of
a federal magistrate when it wants to hold a passenger for more than four
hours who is suspected of smuggling drugs.

That change -- the latest policy change involving checking airline
passengers for drugs -- would take effect Oct. 1, Customs Commissioner
Raymond Kelly told reporters.

In general, Customs can now detain passengers for any period of time without
having to go to a federal judge for approval.

Under the policy change, Customs would be required to make a case before a
federal judge showing that it has "reasonable suspicion" to keep the
passenger in custody. Customs would have to go to the magistrate after a
person has been held for four hours or more.

If the judge deems that there isn't reasonable suspicion to hold the
passenger, he or she is released, Kelly said.

If the judge determines there is reasonable suspicion, then Customs can
continue to hold a passenger, and, following appropriate procedures, can
subject them to more advanced body searches, such as a medically supervised
X-ray at a hospital or a monitored bowel movement.

Customs officers use searches to try to catch smugglers who hide cocaine or
heroin inside their clothes or swallow packets of drugs. The searches
usually begin with a pat-down and, with reasonable suspicion, can proceed to
a strip search, X-ray or monitored bowel movement.

The agency is facing numerous lawsuits over body searches, first reported by
The Associated Press last December, alleging that people were singled out
because of their race and gender.

Only 50,892 of the 71.5 million international air travelers who passed
through Customs in 1998 were subjected to some level of body search, most of
them simple pat-downs, Customs officials have said.

Customs also said that in May it began to collect, for the first time,
uniform data on the race, gender, age and citizenship of people detained for
a personal search. In the past, that information wasn't reported in a
consistent manner.

Customs, which has taken a number of steps to respond to criticism over its
body search procedures, also said it will help passengers who have been
detained but weren't found to have smuggled drugs if their travel plans are
disrupted. Customs said it would help such people arrange for airline, hotel
or transportation and pick up the tab.