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Does High-Tech Machine Reveal Too Much?

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A state corrections officer stands in front of the new scanning device.
RALEIGH — A new device is giving police and correctionalofficers X-ray vision. And giving others pause for thought.

The device iscalled the Secure 1000 Scanner. The new machine is designed to detecthidden weapons and is being tested inRaleigh and one other U.S. city.

But concealed weapons are not the only things revealed by thenew device. The machine also generates an anatomically correct computerimage of the person being scanned. Those who support the new technologysaythe protection provided outweighs privacy rights.

Correctional Captain Marshall Hudson says the machine is quick, painless and very effective.

At Central Prison, corrections officers hand search several hundredinmates each day as they move them from one area to another. Marshallsays the new machine is being tested as a time-saving alternative to thatprocess.

The concern some have is that, even with sensitive areas covered, theimagemay be too revealing for some people's tastes.

Similar scanners may some day be used in airports and courthouses.

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