Kansas City, Mo. ? Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft continued his tour in support of the USA Patriot Act on Friday, calling criticism of the anti-terrorism law “hysteria.”

“America is more secure today than two years ago, and it’s safer and freer than at any time in the history of human freedom,” Ashcroft told an audience of about 250 law enforcement officials.

Earlier Friday, he gave the same speech in Omaha, Neb., and Minneapolis.

The act, passed after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, has drawn criticism from liberals and conservatives alike.

The law expanded power for searches, wiretaps, electronic and computer eavesdropping, and access to personal and business information.

Critics worry it gives law enforcement too much power to snoop into the private lives of ordinary Americans.

Ashcroft, however, says the act gives “effective, tough tools” to law enforcement and does not target law-abiding Americans.

“Not a single American’s library records have been reviewed under the Patriot Act,” Ashcroft said. “No offense to the American Library Association, but we just don’t care.”

Unless renewed, the act will expire in 2005.

Ashcroft said the act had been a success. He pointed to the absence of terrorist attacks on U.S. soil in the past two years and the overall reduction in violent crime.

“Violent crime is decreasing across all income levels and in every region across the country,” Ashcroft said, adding that the overall crime rate was at a 30-year low.

He said the act expanded only powers law enforcement had always had and that it contained safeguards, including reviews by judges, that ensure Americans won’t lose their privacy or freedom.

“If you have caveside dinners with a certain terrorist thug named bin Laden, if you enjoy swapping recipes for chemical weapons from your ‘Joy of Jihad’ cookbook, you might be a target of the Patriot Act,” Ashcroft said.

After the speech, Ashcroft declined to speculate on whether opposition to the Patriot Act might stem from Americans’ frustrations over such security measures as random searches in airports — although those are conducted under the Department of Homeland Security, not Justice.

A handful of protesters gathered across the street from the private exhibition center where Ashcroft spoke, waving signs whose messages included “What Happened to Less Government?”