Border Security a Concern at Detroit Crossings, Paper Reports

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.S. and Canadian border inspectors at the Ambassador Bridge crossing in Detroit and elsewhere routinely allow vehicles to pass through border checkpoints without adequate scrutiny, in order to keep commercial traffic moving, the Detroit Free Press reported Wednesday.

Inspectors are told by supervisors to keep traffic moving, the Free Press said.

And even though U.S. and Canadian officials say safety is not being shortchanged, inspectors say security lapses are a problem at the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest border crossing with Canada and one of only on the U.S.-Canadian border that are privately owned, the paper reported.

In a practice known as lane flushing, inspectors said supervisors had them wave through long lines of cars and trucks to ease congestion, without asking questions of drivers or passengers, the Free Press reported.

An official with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service told the paper the agency tries to cooperate with bridge and tunnel operators and that some inspectors might view that cooperation as yielding to commercial interests.

The Ambassador Bridge is owned by the Detroit International Bridge Co.

he company said it has spent millions to expand its security measures since 9/11 and, the Free Press reported, is using more technology at the bridge, as is the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel.