X-RAY DEVICE MAY REDUCE PAT-DOWNS AT O'HARE

A no-contact body scanning machine will offer an alternative to pat-downs at
O'Hare International Airport, in response to recent allegations that U.S.
Customs inspectors target and humiliate minorities.

U.S. Commissioner of Customs Raymond Kelly on Monday unveiled O'Hare's new
BodySearch imaging system, a 12-foot, 2-ton X-ray device that reveals in
eight seconds any object a person may be carrying under his or her clothing.

The high-tech scanners, which can expose narcotics, currency, plastic
explosives and plastic weapons, have been or will be installed at 13 major
international airports. New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and
airports in Miami and Los Angeles already have them.

"We want to reduce the tension of physical searches," Kelly said. The body
scanner emits a low level of radiation that has proven safe for humans.
Those singled out for a body search can opt to be frisked rather than
X-rayed.

While the scanner doesn't prevent inspectors from singling out travelers
based on race, U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat, said it does
eliminate the personal intrusion of a body search. And Davis said the
technology coupled with sensitivity training and increased legal oversight
indicate Kelly's commitment to preventing racial profiling.

Last year, a class-action lawsuit was filed in Chicago on behalf of nearly
100 women who said they were patted down or strip-searched for drugs by
customs agents at O'Hare because of their race.

"Racial bias is not a part of customs searches and it will not be
tolerated," Kelly said Monday.

But he acknowledged improvements in drug and weapons inspections must be
made, and the new X-ray system is just one component of an ongoing effort.

Since March, the U.S. Customs Service created a customer satisfaction unit,
added cultural and communications training for inspectors and implemented a
rule that a customs supervisor must approve all body searches. Customs
lawyers are now on call around the clock to advise customs officers during
searches. An independent, federal commission also was appointed to review
customs policies and practices. A report is due out next month.

Body searches at O'Hare are down from approximately 3,000 in 1998 to under
1,000 this year. But the success rate has dropped just slightly, Kelly said.
He had numbers only for this quarter, when 14 percent of searches turned up
drugs.

Kelly attributed the drop in searches to added training measures, but
acknowledged recent lawsuits and accusations in Chicago and around the
country might be making his inspectors gun-shy.

The scanning machine is not expected to lead to more searches, Kelly said,
but to provide an alternative.

The X-ray device cannot detect anything inside of the human body, so it will
not eliminate the need for body cavity searches in some cases. But of
roughly 20,000 customs searches throughout the country last year, Kelly,
said 19,000 were strictly pat-downs.

In March, the U.S. Customs Service began surveying travelers who were
searched. Of 440 comment cards received at O'Hare, Kelly said 88 percent
complimented customs. Nationwide, 84 percent of nearly 6,000 people surveyed
had positive comments about the inspection process.

Congress appropriated $9 million for the installation of body scan machines
at airports around the country. Each one costs $125,000. Kelly said another
$2 million is being spent on the surveys, enhanced training, added lawyers
and inspectors.