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Approved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RDP96-00788R000100330001-5 By Alison Muscatine Washington PostStaff Writer Stricter security measures put’in place at thé US. Capitol and congressional office buildings after a bomb explosion last fall have slowed the pace of the approximately 3 million people who pass through them each year and caused cabdri- vers to grumble, but there is general acceptance of the inconvenience, according to security: offi- cials, An intricate identification system now requires journalists, lobbyists and. staff members to wear color-coded passes at all-times and metal detec- tors are in use at-every entrance to the Capitol and adjacent office buildings. Ss “The publicity is the biggest deterrent [against attacks],” says Jack Russ, the sergeant.at arms of the U.S. House of Representatives, who oversees security of the House side of the Capitol. “And there has been so much publicity about it.” Harry Grevey, deputy chief of the 1,222-mem- ber Capitol Hill police force, said there has’ been no increase in the number of weapons confis- cated since the tighter-security took effect. About 125 weapons are confiscated each year, according to security officials, who said most of the weap- ons are taken from people who forget they are carrying a gun. Most tourists are first-time visitors to the Cap- itol and are unaware that the security measures are new. ’ Groups of high schoo! students loaded down with cameras can be seen patiently handing over their wares topolicemen as they pass through metal detectors outside the House and Senate galleries, where picture-taking has always been forbidden. 7 Even at the main entrances of the Capitol, tourists seem willing to oblige police requests to search: purses and pass through metal detectors. “tt, doesn’t bother me,” said a man who came from Pennsylvania for the Memorial Day week- end with his family. “It’s just like going through the airport.” - The 20,000-plus people whose government-re- lated jobs take them to the Hill and the 4,000 journalists who cover them are complaining less, according to police, about the inconvenience of purse and briefcase inspection at every entrance and the lines at the metal detectors, which have grown with the advent‘of the tourist season. “Overall I think it’s working fairly well,” says Larry E. Smith, the Senate sergeant at arms. “There are occasional problems but there is a greater acceptance on the part ‘of staff and lob- ‘byists.” _ ; The stiffer security adds about 15 minutes to what used to be an av- erage 45-minute tour of the Capitol, but most tourists have been very co- operative, according to Tom Not- tingham, the Capitol’s chief of tour guides. He said that tourism in the Capitol has dropped by. about 10,000 visitors a month, but the decrease is not necessarily correlated to the de- lays resulting from increased secu- rity. “Everybody is willing to, conform because they know it is something that has to be done,” Nottingham said, adding that most tourists have become accustomed to metal detec- tors and bag searches in airports. After the November bombing, which caused $265,000 in damage but. no injuries, there: were. com- plaints about police behaving aggres- sively, occasionally even with mem- bers of Congress, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) was confronted by a police officer who raised his gun at him, and Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker (R-Tenn.) was prevented tem- porarily from attending a GOP fund- raising event in the Seriate -caucus ‘room because a police officer did not ‘recognize him. “Generally, most senators have ac- cepted our mistakes with a sense of humor and have been supportive of what we're trying to do,” Smith said. One congressional staff member said last week that the biggest incon- venience is that the new staff passes are. too large to fit in a wallet and therefore “can’t be used on weekends as identification for cashing checks.” The increased security included changing traffic patterns to direct the flow away from the Capitol, and requiring taxis to discharge passen- gers at the Capitol’s side entrances. The taxi rules draw constant moans from cab drivers, who. are given no time to linger and therefore lose chances to pick up new passengers. ' Concrete barriers, which serve as flower pots and look similar to those now placed at several entrances to the White. House, were installed to prevent terrorists from trying to ram the building with a truck bomb. Bullet-proof metal was installed in SPECIAL EDITION -- TERRORISM -- 26 JUNE 1984 WASHINGTON POST 1 June 1984 Pg. 1€ Capitol Securely Greeting Tourists the backs of all chairs on the floor of the chamber in the House of Rep- resentatives. Initially, the new security rules limited reporters’ access to members of Congress outside the second-floor chambers, but that was changed af- ter complaints to the sergeants at arms, Smith agreed to allow report- ers in the corridor outside the Sen- ate chamber, a favorite place. to catch senators for comments after they vote, for a 60-day trial period. He said last week that the experi- ment had been successful and he gees no reason to discontinue it. As for the Hill police, security of- ficials say their training is adequate protection against terrorists and po- tential bombings. “We have one of the ‘best bomb units on the East Coast,” said one security official, ask- ing not to be identified. “And we also have a great hostage negotiation team.” A team of specially trained dogs is used to sniff-search buildings for bombs before major events. Security at the Capitol also had been increased following a 1971 bombing—again with no injuries. In 1975, a $4 million surveillance sys- tem with 100 television cameras was installed throughout the Capitol and its subterranean walkways. At that time X-ray machines were placed at 10 entrances and there was a rule that briefcases had to be checked. Hil deputy police chief Grevey said that additional security mea- sures are going to be: put into effect, but he would not disclose what they are, Despite the new measures, some Hill veterans believe the system re- lies more on symbolism and public- ity than on the efficiency of metal detectors and the identification pass- es. “Frankly, I think it’s a joke,” said one Virginia congressional staff member who has worked on the Hill since 1969, “I could think of 10 ways to get into the building without a pass if I really wanted to.” The staff aide said the main im- provement resulting from the new security system is that there are few- er “crazies coming by our office.” His office is located near an entrance to Independence Avenue where several police officers and an X-ray machine are now located. 19 Approved For Release 2000/08/07 : CIA-RDP96-00788R000100330001-5