Archive of posts filed under the Polygraph category.

Director of National Intelligence Orders Polygraph Question on Media Contacts

Posted by on

On 25 June 2012, Director of National Intelligence James Clapper announced (PDF) that he is “mandating that a question related to unauthorized disclosure of classified information be added to the counterintelligence polygraph used by all intelligence agencies that administer the examination (CIA, DIA, DOE, FBI, NGA, NRO, and NSA).” Although Clapper’s announcement does not specify what …

Continue reading ‘Director of National Intelligence Orders Polygraph Question on Media Contacts’ »

Secret Service Wants to Polygraph Agents Implicated in Colombia Prostitution Scandal

Posted by on

Norah O’Donnell reports for CBS News that the U.S. Secret Service “wants to polygraph a number of agents and officers involved” in a scandal wherein they allegedly hired prostitutes while in Cartagena, Colombia as part of President Obama’s security detail. It should be noted, however, that the unscientific polygraph is in part responsible for the …

Continue reading ‘Secret Service Wants to Polygraph Agents Implicated in Colombia Prostitution Scandal’ »

Polygraph Screening in Ireland?

Posted by on

On Sunday, 12 February 2012, the BBC Radio Ulster program Sunday Sequence aired a segment on polygraphy in the wake of news that “an increasing number of Irish companies are asking potential employees to take lie detector tests.” Host William Crawley spoke with polygraph operator Don Cargill, professor of forensic psychology Don Grubin, and AntiPolygraph.org co-founder …

Continue reading ‘Polygraph Screening in Ireland?’ »

Cain Backpedals on Lie Detector, Cites “Layered Voice Analysis”

Posted by on

Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain has backed off from his declaration at a press conference convened to address allegations of sexual harassment  that he was “absolutely” willing to do a lie detector test. In an interview with Neil Cavuto of Fox News, Cain conditioned his willingness to do a lie detector test on the willingness …

Continue reading ‘Cain Backpedals on Lie Detector, Cites “Layered Voice Analysis”’ »

Herman Cain Would Absolutely Do a Lie Detector Test

Posted by on

During a press conference convened yesterday to address allegations of sexual harassment, Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain declared that he would “absolutely” be willing to take a lie detector test, though he quickly added, “but I’m not going to do that unless I have a good reason to do that.” Cain’s declaration came in response …

Continue reading ‘Herman Cain Would Absolutely Do a Lie Detector Test’ »

Lie Detector Leads to Execution of Innocent Man in Taiwan

Posted by on

Dennis Engbarth reports for Inter Press Service on the case of Chiang Kuo-ching, a Taiwanese airman who was executed in 1997 for the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl. Military investigators tortured a confession out of Chiang after he failed to pass a lie detector “test.” Since then, DNA evidence and a palm-print have incriminated a …

Continue reading ‘Lie Detector Leads to Execution of Innocent Man in Taiwan’ »

Troy Davis and the Polygraph

Posted by on

Lawyers for Troy Davis, who faces execution by lethal injection at 19:00 hours Eastern time today for the 1991 slaying of an off-duty Savannah police officer, are seeking a polygraph test in a bid to persuade the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to stay the execution. The Davis case has been the subject of much …

Continue reading ‘Troy Davis and the Polygraph’ »

Philadelphia P.D.’s Pre-Employment Polygraph Failure Rate Pegged at 63%

Posted by on

In his latest article, Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Daniel Rubin documents the plight of Greg Thomas, an investigator for the city court system who recently failed a Philadelphia Police Department pre-employment polygraph despite, he insists, having told the truth. Rubin notes that since reinstating polygraph screening this year (it had been discontinued in 2002), the Philadelphia …

Continue reading ‘Philadelphia P.D.’s Pre-Employment Polygraph Failure Rate Pegged at 63%’ »

Kyle Hill on Polygraphy

Posted by on

Skeptic Kyle Hill, a graduate student at Marquette University who maintains the blog Science-Based Life, takes a look at the evidence for polygraphy in “The Polygraph Test: Can Science Tell if You Are Lying?” He compares the claims made by polygraph advocates such as the American Polygraph Association with the findings of the Congressional Office of …

Continue reading ‘Kyle Hill on Polygraphy’ »

New Law Enforcement Polygraph Handbook

Posted by on

As the American Polygraph Association holds its annual seminar in Austin, Texas this week, one of the topics on the agenda is a program run by a consortium of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies called “Polygraph Law Enforcement Accreditation” (PLEA). Participating agencies include the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), the Defense Criminal Investigative …

Continue reading ‘New Law Enforcement Polygraph Handbook’ »