Pubdate: Mon, 04 Nov 2002 Source: National Post (Canada) Copyright: 2002 Southam Inc. Contact: http://www.nationalpost.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/286 Author: Tom Blackwell CUSTOMS LOOKS TO SCAN CARS FOR WEAPONS, DRUGS Ultrasound, Infrared Devices Are The Latest Tools In Detecting Contraband At Border Crossings: Requests Prototypes Canada Customs and Revenue hopes to scan vehicles coming into the country using ultrasound and infrared devices to seek out weapons, drugs and other hidden contraband. The agency plans to test devices over the next two to six months, then decide whether to equip its officers with them. "We want to be at the state of the art in terms of technology," said Carolyn Jacques, a Customs spokeswoman. If tests prove successful, "it could be used for detecting goods ... for weapons, for dangerous materials," she said. The hand-held devices being considered would appear to allow electronic searches of virtually every type of vehicle that comes across the border, from transport trucks to sedans carrying tourists. The agency has asked companies to come forward with prototypes of such cutting-edge, hand-held monitors. One of two requests for information released to industry last week says officials are looking into the use of infrared cameras to "review private and commercial vehicles ... in search of concealed contraband." The other document discusses using battery-operated, hand-held ultrasound devices that could distinguish and catalogue different liquids contained in barrels of all shapes and size, and search for concealed contraband in vehicles that cross the border. The projects are part of Canada Customs' attempt to tighten security along the world's longest undefended frontier in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. It has already announced it is spending $110-million on X-ray machines designed to examine a full marine container or tractor-trailer, and ion detectors for intercepting weapons of mass destruction containing chemical, biological and nuclear materials. Infrared, or thermal imaging, is useful in searching for contraband because it can detect subtle differences in temperature, allowing users to find compartments hidden behind walls, according to Sierra Pacific Innovations, a Nevada-based company that has sold such products to police and the armed forces in the U.S. The potential of ultrasound technology in detecting contraband is a little less proven, said Peter Coakley of Jaycor Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems in San Diego. He said his company has developed technology that can be used to detect humans being smuggled in hidden compartments. The signals sent out by the ultrasound can detect minute changes in sound, so the breathing of a concealed person will show up as a telltale sign, he said. An X-ray might perform the same function but ultrasound doesn't expose people to potentially harmful radiation, Mr. Coakley noted. Jaycor's equipment has also been tested as a method for detecting weapons, even those not made of metal, hidden inside clothing or behind someone's back. Despite the prospect of Customs officers peering inside trunks with the high-tech devices, privacy is unlikely to be an issue, said Darrell Evans of the B.C. Freedom of Information and Privacy Association. Laws allow authorities to conduct searches at border points without warrants, as long as they are reasonable, because of security concerns, he said. "I don't see a problem with it," said Mr. Evans. "They have every right to go through the vehicle and look at everything." Such technology may even turn out to be less intrusive than physical searches, he said. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart