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If you would like to write an article for publication here, or if you have any polygraph-related document(s) that you think should be included here, please contact AntiPolygraph.org. Anonymous submissions will also be considered.

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Polygraph Reading Room

Polygraph Articles, Letters, & Book Chapters

• "Rebuttal of Defamatory Remarks by Polygraph Examiner Dr. Louis I. Rovner, Ph.D." by George W. Maschke, 25 October 2007. In an attempt to discredit this website, Rovner made false and defamatory statements regarding AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke in a polygraph examination that was videorecorded for evidentiary purposes.
   
• "Positive and Negative Predictive Values of Polygraphs: Results from published 'field' studies" (255 kb PDF) by Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff. Values generated through Monte Carlo simulation indicate "if a subject fails a polygraph, the probability that she is, in fact, being deceptive is little more than chance alone; that is, one could flip a coin and get virtually the same result for a positive test based on the published data."
   
• "Science, Lies, and Controversy: An Epitaph for the Lie Detector" (133kb PDF) by Dr. David T. Lykken. Invited address to the 1991 convention of the American Psychological Association, acknowledging the Award for Distinguished Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest.
   
• Chapter 4 of Safe House: The Compelling Story of the Only CIA Operative to Seek Asylum in Russia by Edward Lee Howard (Bethesda, MD: National Press Books, 1995). Recounts the author's CIA polygraph experience.
   
• "Polygraph Screening of Sex Offenders," by Dr. Drew C. Richardson, 21 May 2005. A letter to the editor of the UK newspaper Telegraph on plans to implement compulsory lie detector "testing" for convicted sex offenders released under licence.
   
• "Polygraph Operator 'Dr.' Michael Martin Is a Phony Ph.D.," by George W. Maschke, 22 April 2005.
   
• "Polygraph Operator 'Dr.' James Allan Matte Is Not a Genuine Ph.D.," by George W. Maschke, 18 April 2005.
   
• Letter to Dr. Phil McGraw on Polygraph Testing, by Professor John J. Furedy, professor of psychology at the University of Toronto, 28 February 2005.
   
• "OSI provides the truth in Baghdad," by USAF Master Sgt. Carolyn Collins, Global Reliance, March-April 2004. This article provides yet another example of unwarranted official belief in the lie detector.
   
• "U.S. Military Computer Systems Used to Post Disinformation on AntiPolygraph.org," by George W. Maschke, 22 April 2004.
   
• Gallery Row: Home of the FBI HQ Polygraph Unit. 18 January 2004.
   
• Foster Father Who "Passed" Polygraph Admits Sex Abuse. 8 December 2003. News release by the United States Attorney, District of Idaho, regarding the case of Robert Philip Long.
   
• "Polygraph: An intelligence tool in growing demand," by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Joseph Castleberry, 902nd Military Intelligence Group (Counterintelligence), INSCOM Journal, Spring 2003, pp. 15-16. This article provides an alarming example of unwarranted official belief in the lie detector.
   
• "A Response to Doug Williams," by George W. Maschke, 1 August 2003. Douglas Gene Williams, author of "How to Sting the Polygraph," a manual on polygraph countermeasures that is available for sale on his website, www.polygraph.com, has published a veiled attack against AntiPolygraph.org.
   
• Memorandum to National Nuclear Security Administration Director Lynton F. Brooks (59 kb PDF) congratulating him on his decision to remove David M. Renzelman as director of the Department of Energy's polygraph program. This anonymous letter, sent by fax on 3 March 2003, also includes a farewell memo from Mr. Renzelman.
   
• The Body on the Stairs: A Pedagogical Detective Story (540 kb PDF) by David Thoreson Lykken. Chapter 21 of A Tremor in the Blood: Uses and Abuses of the Lie Detector, 1st edition, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981. Reproduced here by permission.
   
• "Polygraph Operator 'Dr.' Edward I. Gelb Exposed as a Phony Ph.D.," by George W. Maschke, 16 June 2003.
   
• George W. Maschke's comments to the Department of Energy regarding its decision, published in the Federal Register on 14 April 2003, to completely ignore the National Academy of Sciences' findings on polygraphy.
   
• "How to Beat the Lie Detector" by William Scott Stewart, Esquire, November, 1941.
   
• "Just Say 'No' to FBI Polygraphs" by George W. Maschke, 9 May 2003
   
• Letter to the West Virginia House of Delegates Judiciary Committee by George W. Maschke dated 6 May 2003 on House Bill 2780, that would institute mandatory polygraph screening for sex offender probationers and parolees.
   
• Letter to the editor of the New York Times by Dr. Drew C. Richardson dated 11 April 2003 regarding polygraph screening in light of the James J. Smith case.
   
• A Response to Paul M. Menges Regarding the Ethical Considerations of Providing Polygraph Countermeasures to the Public. AntiPolygraph.org's George Maschke comments on an article by DoDPI countermeasure course instructor Paul M. Menges
   
• Evaluation and Opinion of CQT Polygraphy by Dr. Drew C. Richardson. This statement was successfully used to refute polygraph "evidence" in an administrative hearing. Dr. Richardson is willing to make a signed copy available at no charge to any who may need to discredit polygraph "evidence."
   
• Chapter 15 of Nazi Spies in America by Leon G. Turrou (New York, Random House, 1938, 1939). Describing what is likely the FBI's first use of the polygraph in an espionage investigation.
   
• "Destruction of Records and Personal Attack on Journalist by Defense Security Service" by Michael Ravnitzky. Documents the Defense Security Service's instruction to the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute that it destroy polygraph videotapes to circumvent Freedom of Information Act requests by the public.
   
• "Playing 'Pin the Tail on the Truth' in the Eleventh Circuit: Why Polygraph Evidence Should be Excluded in Federal Courts" (144 kb PDF) by Vincent A. Citro, Stetson Law Review, Vol. 30 (2000), No. 2. Reproduced here by permission.
   
• "Can Criminals Beat the Lie Detectors?" (1.66 mb PDF) by Fred T. Blakemore, Science and Mechanics, Vol. 24, No. 4 (August 1953). The author seems to have uncritically relied on information provided to him by polygraphers. Nevertheless, this article is of historical interest as one of the earliest published writings on polygraph countermeasures and counter-countermeasures. (For up-to-date information about polygraph countermeasures, see The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.)
   
• Letter to the Washington Post by Professor John J. Furedy dated 4 April 2002.
   
• "Thermal imaging polygraph no more valid than the current North American entrails-reading procedure." Letter to Nature magazine by Professor John J. Furedy dated 5 January 2002.
   
• Letter to the Los Angeles Board of Civil Service Commissioners (19 kb PDF) on LAPD polygraph policy dated 30 November 2001 by George Maschke.
   
• LAPD polygraph test results don't tell full truth by George Maschke. Published in the Los Angeles Daily News, 1 November 2001.
   
• "Forensic 'Lie Detection': Procedures Without Scientific Basis" by Professor William G. Iacono. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Vol. 1 (2001), No. 1, pp. 75-86. Reproduced here by permission.
   
• Referral to the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility regarding evidence of false FBI statements about the DOE polygraph examination of Dr. Wen Ho Lee dated 26 July 2001 by George Maschke.
   
• Letter to the U.S. Senate Committe on the Judiciary by Mark Mallah dated 25 July 2001 regarding his personal experience under investigation and recommending the abolishment of polygraph screening.
   
• "False Detector" by Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff, senior scientist, Sandia National Laboratories. Published in the 4 April 2001 edition of the Albuquerque Tribune and reproduced here by permission.
   
• Open Letter to Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. A request for hearings into polygraph waste, fraud, and abuse dated 18 June 2001 by George Maschke.
   
• Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff's letter dated 13 June 2001 to Dr. Grant LeFarge, Secretary of the New Mexico Board of Medical Examiners, on the ethics of medical determinations regarding polygraphs.
   
• Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff's letter dated 14 June 2001 to Sandia National Laboratories Director C. Paul Robinson and Executive Vice-President Joan Woodard on medical questions and polygraph screening.
   
• Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff's letter dated 14 June 2001 to DOE Office of Counterintelligence director Michael J. Waguespack regarding medical questions and polygraph "testing."
   
• "Polygraph as Superstitious National Security Tool," by Professor John J. Furedy, 25 February 2001.
   
• Open Letter to Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld on Waste, Fraud, and Abuse in the DoD Counterintelligence-Scope Polygraph Program dated 29 January 2001 by George Maschke.
   
• Polygraph "Testing" of Informed Subjects: What Are Polygraphers to Do with Those Who Understand "the Lie Behind the Lie Detector?" American Polygraph Association president Milton O. "Skip" Webb, Jr. joins Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson in declining to explain.
   
  • An Open Letter to the American Polygraph Association from George Maschke dated 9 December 2000.
     
  • APA President Skip Webb's reply dated 15 December 2000.
     
  • Follow-up Questions from George Maschke dated 16 December 2000.
     
  • President Webb's Unresponsive Rejoinder dated 16 December 2000.
     
• Letter to U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairmain Richard Shelby from Dr. Alan P. Zelicoff dated 6 November 2000.
   
• Polygraph Screening and the Lie Behind the Lie Detector: A Second Open Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson dated 12 October 2000 by George W. Maschke.
   
• Open Letter to Hamilton County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas General Division Presiding Judge Robert S. Kraft dated 30 September 2000 by George W. Maschke.
   
• Open Letter to All Elected Politicians and Appointed Public Office Holders dated 20 September 2000 by Wild Bill.
   
• The Lying Game: National Security and the Test for Espionage and Sabotage dated 17 December 1999 by George W. Maschke.
   
• Open Letter to Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson dated 12 October 2000 by George W. Maschke.

Polygraph and Voice Stress Analysis Documents

• Counterintelligence Interrogation (658kb PDF) A declassified article by C.N. Geschwind on how to interrogate intelligence sources. Includes passing references to the polygraph. Published in the CIA journal, Studies in Intelligence, Volume 9, Winter 1965.
   
• The Polygraph in Agent Interrogation. (317kb PDF) A declassified article by Chester C. Crawford on the CIA's use of the polygraph to interrogate intelligence assets. Published in the CIA journal, Studies in Intelligence, Volume 4, Summer 1960.
   
• Project Slammer Interim Report dated 12 April 1990. Project Slammer is a CIA-sponsored study of Americans convicted of espionage against the United States. Although none of the spies was caught by the polygraph, the report remarkably states, without explanation, that "[t]he security measure that was consistently most effective was the polygraph." (Download as 125 kb PDF file.)
   
• LCFLUTTER - Rough Draft Reports of George E. Filbing (325 kb PDF). Reports dated 2 April 1954 of polygraph screening examinations conducted in March 1954 as part of operation PBSUCCESS, a CIA covert operation to overthrow the government of president Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala. LCFLUTTER is a cryptonym for "polygraph." The cryptonym LINCOLN used in this document refers to headquarters in Florida. These reports, declassified (with redactions) in 2003, help document the CIA's early reliance on polygraphy.
   
• Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation -- A Technical Memorandum (1.2 mb PDF). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment. OTA-TM-H-15, November 1983.
   
• Polygraph Use by the Department of Energy (71 kb PDF). 1 October 2003. An updated report by Alfred Cumming, Specialist in Intelligence and National Security, Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division, Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress. An earlier version of this report (61 kb PDF) dated 8 July 2003 is also available.
   
• Operations Research Office report ORO-S-85. Report on the Possible Uses of the Polygraph and Supplemental Report on the Examination of Korean Nationals and Communist Chinese. January 1951. (Download as 899 kb PDF file.)
   
• "Use of the Polygraph in the Executive Branch." Memorandum issued by President Lyndon B. Johnson (Download as a 374 kb PDF file.)
   
• Richard M. Nixon on Polygraph "Testing." Transcript of the taped Oval Office conversation (Conversation No. 545-3) in which then President Richard M. Nixon uttered the infamous words, "I don't know anything about polygraphs, and I don't know how accurate they are, but I know they'll scare the hell out of people."
   
• Federal Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Examiner Handbook (981kb PDF) dated 2 October 2006. "This manual is issued under the authority of DoD Directive 5210.48, DoD Polygraph Program. Its purpose is to prescribe uniform Psychophysiological Detection of Deception (PDD/polygraph) procedures. The provisions of this manual are effective immediately and apply to those DoD elements that use PDD, and by agreement to other Federal law enforcement, counterintelligence, and security agencies that also use PDD procedures."
   
  These earlier versions of the handbook are also available:
   
  • Federal Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Examiner Handbook (964kb PDF) dated 1 March 2004.
     
  • Federal Psychophysiological Detecton of Deception Examiner Handbook (1mb PDF) dated 3 July 2001. This heavily redacted edition of the federal government's polygraph handbook was released to AntiPolygraph.org under the Freedom of Information Act.
     
  • Federal Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Examiner Handbook (299kb PDF) dated 1 December 1998. "The procedures in this handbook detail PDD (polygraph) standards as taught by the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute."
     
• DoDPI Racial Bias Study (1.3 mb PDF) This document provides the results of a 1990 study of polygraph results conducted by the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute. In the study, only 23.5% of innocent blacks passed, compared to 36.9% of innocent whites. Although DoDPI attempted to suppress this study and never published it, at least one copy survived, and AntiPolygraph.org is pleased to make it publicly available, along with an explanatory cover sheet.
   
• Test for Espionage and Sabotage (TES) Documentation. The TES is the primary polygraph screening format used by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy.
   
  • DoDPI94-R-0008. "A Comparison of Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Accuracy Rates Obtained Using the Counterintelligence Scope Polygraph and the Test for Espionage and Sabotage Question Formats." This report is based on the first of three studies conducted by Dr. Sheila D. Reed.
     
  • DoDPI94-R-0009. "Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Accuracy Rates Obtained Using the Test for Espionage and Sabotage." This report is based on the second of Dr. Reed's three studies.
     
  • Test of Espionage and Sabotage (TES) Expansion and Validation Study. DoDPI never published any report of Dr. Reed's 3rd TES study, and its parent agency, the Defense Security Service, has refused to release any documents about it under the Freedom of Information Act. However, AntiPolygraph.org has obtained this abstract of Dr. Reed's 3rd TES study, which was presented to the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.
     
  • A New Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Examination for Security Screening. A DoDPI briefing document on Dr. Reed's three TES studies dated October 1994.
     
  • DoDPI97-P-0009 (1.3 mb scanned PDF file). Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Accuracy Rates Obtained Using the Test for Espionage and Sabotage: A Replication. This report, dated 29 July 1997, was obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. It explains the protocol to be followed in a study of TES accuracy rates.

    Appendix I (eye) is of special interest, because it exposes the trickery involved in the procedure, for example:

    Administer a standard known solution numbers test--using the rationale described in section 6. below. DO NOT show the test to the examinee, but convince the examinee that deception was indicated. (p. 31)

    While Appendix I is included in the scanned PDF of the entire report, it may be more conveniently read here in HTML format or downloaded as a separate, word-searchable PDF file:
     
    • Test for Espionage and Sabotage Administration Guidelines (HTML)
       
    • Test for Espionage and Sabotage Administration Guidelines (29 kb PDF)
       
• Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System (PCASS) Documentation. The PCASS is a hand-held lie-detector developed at U.S. taxpayer expense that is intended for screening locally hired personnel as well as suspected insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq. These documents were obtained by MSNBC under the Freedom of Information Act for its investigative report, "New anti-terror weapon: Hand-held lie detector."
   
  • Validation Studies for the Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System (PCASS) (135 kb PDF) by Stuart Senter, James Waller, & Donald Krapohl. Report No. DoDPI06-P-0030 dated November 2006. Includes instructions on how to administer the test, including standard questions to be asked.
     
  • The Preliminary Credibility Assessment System Embedded Algorithm Description and Validation Results (862 kb PDF) by John C. Harris and Allan D. McQuarrie. Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Report Number GED-R-06-7571 prepared for the Counterintelligence Field Activity.
     
  • Efficacy of Prototype Credibility Assessment Technologies: PCASS Final Report (908 kb PDF). Report dated 18 July 2007 prepared by Battelle Memorial Institute for the Defense Academy for Credibility Assessment.
     
  • Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System (PCASS): A Status Report (582 kb PDF). This PDF file contains two DoDPI/DACA PowerPoint presentations.
     
  • Evaluation of the Preliminary Credibility Assessment Screening System (PCASS) (124 kb PDF) by David Thompson, Team Lead, Counterintelligence HUMINT Support Team, Camp Cropper, Iraq, dated 14 April 2007.
     
• Counterintelligence Screening Test (CIST) Documentation. Developed in 1971, the CIST was a predecessor of the TES.
   
  • A Validation and Reliability Study of the Counterintelligence Screening Test (756 kb PDF) prepared by MAJ Gordon H. Barland (Ph.D.), Security Support Battalion, 902nd Military Intelligence Group, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland dated 12 May 1981.
     
• DoDPI Relevant/Irrelevant (R&I) Screening Worksheet. A four-page instructional worksheet used at the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute in the early 1990s. It lists the questions used in DoDPI's "full scope" relevant/irrelevant (R&I) screening "test," including their type and order.
   
• Forensic Psychophysiological Detection of Deception (PDD) Policy and Procedure Manual (328 kb PDF), United States Army Criminal Investigation Command, effective 21 February 2005.
   
• Effect of the Location of the Numbers Test on Examiner Decision Rates in Criminal Psychophysiological Detection of Deception Tests by Richard Widup and Gordon H. Barland (870 kb PDF). DoDPI94-R-0008. Pages 4-5 of this report (14-15 of the PDF file) provide a detailed description of how the DoDPI "acquaintance test" is administered.
   
• Army Regulation 195-6, Department of the Army Polygraph Activities, dated 29 September 1995 (1.5 mb scanned PDF file). Associated forms:
   
  • DA Form 2801 Polygraph Examination Statement of Consent, dated 1 JUL 85 (24 kb PDF)
  • DA Form 2802 Polygraph Examination Report, dated NOV 76 (24 kb PDF)
  • DA Form 2805 Polygraph Examination Authorization dated, NOV 76 (26 kb PDF)
     
• SECNAVINST 5520.4B, OP-09N, dated 2 August 1989. Department of the Navy Polygraph Program. (3.8 mb PDF)
   
• Department of Defense Polygraph Institute Interview and Interrogation Handbook by Michael J. Janniro, DoDPI. 4th edition, June 1991. xii + 116 pages. Includes sections on verbal and non-verbal communication, effective listening, types of questions, interview & interrogation, assessing behavior, structured "post-test" interrogation, case themes, general themes, subliminal non-verbal "selling," "homespun themes," and defense mechanisms. This document makes it clear that polygraph "tests" are actually interrogations in disguise. (1.6 mb PDF.)
   
• Department of Defense Polygraph Institute Law Enforcement Pre-employment Test (919 kb PDF). January 2002. A 23-page document outlining procedures for the administration of pre-employment polygraph examinations for law enforcement applicants.
   
• Testimonial Evidence (2.2 mb Microsoft Word document). Army Institute for Professional Development, Army Correspondence Course Program, Subcourse MP 1016, Edition A. United States Army Military Police School, September 1991. This document covers interrogation and polygraph procedures for military police investigators.
   
• Department of Defense Polygraph Institute Numerical Evaluation Scoring System (188kb PDF) "This document introduces you to the DoDPI Numerical Evaluation Scoring System. There are other numerical scoring systems in existence; however, the DoDPI system is the preferred and standardized system of evaluation used throughout the Federal government." Dated August 2004.
   
• Department of Defense Polygraph Institute Test Data Analysis. (567kb scanned PDF). Click here to browse graphics in HTML format (size reduced 50%).

  This 61-page document appears to be a collection of slides or overhead projections. It provides an overview of the physiological reactions that DoDPI deems relevant for scoring polygraph charts, explains the 7-point numerical scoring system, and provides specific information on scoring of the Zone Comparison Test (ZCT), Modified General Question Test (MGQT), and Peak of Tension (POT) polygraph formats. This document presupposes that the reader has a general understanding of "control" question "test" (CQT) polygraphy (regarding which see Chapter 3 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.)
   

• Dissolution of DoDPI Curriculum and Research Guidance Committee. A 28 May 1996 letter by then DoDPI director Michael H. Capps dissolving an unpaid advisory committee comprised of eminently qualified psychologists who had advised against polygraph screening. To download this memorandum as a scanned PDF file, click here.
   
• Department of Defense Polygraph Institute (DoDPI) library holdings. The DoDPI library has a large collection of both published and unpublished documents on polygraphy and maintains a bibliographic database. A listing of the library's holdings as of 26 September 2002 is archived here and will be of use to researchers:
   
  • DoDPI Library Holdings (HTML) (1.9 mb)
  • DoDPI Library Holdings (ProCite database file) (3.4 mb)
  • DoDPI Library Holdings (RTF file) (2.3 mb)
     
• Military Rule of Evidence 707 and the Art of Post-Polygraph Interrogation: A Proposed Amendment to the Blanket Exclusionary Rule. (161 kb word-searchable PDF). Article by Major Scott E. Reid published in The Army Lawyer, November 2001 (DA PAM 27-50-347). Excerpt:

  The blanket prohibition against any reference to a person taking a polygraph examination unfairly prevents an accused from attacking the reliability of his admissions in a post-polygraph interrogation. The issue is the art of the subsequent interrogation, not polygraph science. Whether in a motion or on the merits, an accused may want to present evidence that he took a polygraph test to demonstrate the overbearing effect of all the relevant circumstances surrounding the interrogation.
  

• Use of the Polygraph in Security Clearance Investigations. Chapter 8 of Security Clearances and National Security Information: Law and Procedures written by Sheldon I. Cohen for the Defense Personnel Security Research Center, dated December 2000. (The entire book may be downloaded as a 17.5 mb PDF file here)
   
• Expanding Federal Polygraph Programs. A June 2001 report by the Defense Personnel Security Research Center (PERSEREC).
   
• "Continued Use of Polygraph Techniques". A 5 November 2002 memorandum by Assistant Secretary of Defense John P. Stenbit in response to the National Academy of Sciences' polygraph report. To download this memorandum as a scanned PDF file, click here.
   
• Investigation and Evaluation of Voice Stress Analysis Technology. (6.3 mb PDF). Research report by Darren Haddad, Sharon Walter, Roy Ratley, and Megan Smith. National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Document No. 193832 dated 20 March 2002.
   
• Voice Stress Analysis Instrument Evaluation. (365 kb PDF). Final Report, Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) Contract FA 4814-04-0011. By Harry Hollien and James D. Harnsberger. University of Florida, Gainesville. 17 March 2006. "The findings generated by this study led to the conclusion the [sic] neither the CVSA nor the LVA were sensitive to the presence of deception or stress."
   
• Assessing the Validity of Voice Stress Analysis Tools in a Jail Setting (2.1 mb PDF). Research report by Kelly R. Damphousse, Laura Pointon, Deidre Upchurch, and Rebecca K. Moore. National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Document No. 219031 dated 31 March 2007.
   
• National Security Agency Polygraph Regulation and Associated Documentation. These documents have been released under the Freedom of Information Act:
   
  • NSA Polygraph Regulation (NSA/CSS Regulation 122-03) dated 6 April 1984.
     
  • Memorandum by NSA Director Lincoln D. Faurer dated 27 September 1982 on "Personnel Security Procedures."
     
  • NSA Memorandum on Polygraph Policy dated 8 July 1983
     
  • NSA Security Management Letter dated 12 July 1983 on "Use of the Polygraph for Continued Access and for Investigation of Unauthorized Disclosures."
     
  • NSA Security Management Letter dated 27 September 1983 on "Use of the Polygraph for Continued Access and for Investigation of Unauthorized Disclosures."
     
• U.S. Department of Energy polygraph forms. These forms have been released under the Freedom of Information Act:
   
  • U.S. Department of Energy examination waiver. Individuals who sign this form waive their right to 10 days prior notification of a polygraph examination. (36kb scanned PDF)
     
  • U.S. Department of Energy polygraph examination consent form. (71kb scanned PDF)
     
  • U.S. Department of Energy polygraph examination medical certification form. (57kb scanned PDF)
     
• U.S. Department of Energy Office of Counterintelligence memo dated 31 May 2001 on revisions to "Polygraph Notificiation Letter."
   
• U.S. Department of Energy Counterintelligence Polygraph Program Video. Transcript.
   
• Polygraphs and Security: A Study by a Subpanel of Sandia's Senior Scientists and Engineers (125kb word-searchable PDF file). Sandia National Laboratories' Senior Scientists and Engineers prepared this report dated 21 October 1999 at the request of Director C. Paul Robinson. From the conclusion:

  The Seniors find no scientific or programmatic justification for polygraph screening of employees. In fact, we believe that if polygraph testing is implemented by DOE, national security is likely to decrease by (1) making it easier for subversives to become insiders, (2) driving away talented workers and making it more difficult to recruit new workers, (3) wasting resources trying to correct the errors caused by polygraph testing, and (4) reducing employee commitment (a very important factor in national security and protection against subversion).
  

  
   
• Atomic Energy Commission Polygraph Program Documentation. From 1946-1953, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) operated a polygraph screening program at its facilities in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. In 1953, the Washington office of the AEC ended polygraph screening on the ground that "it furnished only a marginal increase of security." The two memos provided here were declassified in 1999. For further reading on the AEC polygraph program, see John G. Lindeman's article, "The Oak Ridge Polygraph Program 1946-1953," Polygraph, Vol. 19 (1990), No. 2, pp. 131-138.
   
  • "Continued and Extended Use of the Polygraph." Memorandum dated 3 June 1947 (HTML | PDF)
     
  • "Continued and Extended Use of the Polygraph." Memorandum dated 19 September 1947 (HTML | PDF)
     

• FBI Personnel Security Polygraph Program. A 1-sheet, 6-page leaflet produced by the FBI Polygraph Unit. (Download as a 637 kb full color PDF file.)
   
• FBI Polygraph Procedures for Members of Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) (12 kb PDF)
   
• FBI Manual of Investigative Operations and Guidelines, Section 67-7.10, Polygraph Examinations of FBI Applicants
   
• FBI Polygraph Forms (thanks to The Memory Hole)
   
  • FD-328 Consent to Interview With Polygraph (85 kb PDF)
  • FD-328a Employee Agreement to Interview With Polygraph in Connection With an Administrative Interview (63 kb PDF)
  • FD-328b Applicant Agreement to Interview With Polygraph (96kb PDF)
  • FD-328c Employee Consent to Interview With Polygraph (72kb PDF)
  • FD-497 Polygraph Examination Worksheet (96kb PDF)
  • FD-498 Polygraph Report (41kb PDF)
     
• "Polygraph Screening in Light of the Robert Hanssen Espionage Investigation." A February 2001 memorandum from Dr. Drew C. Richardson of the FBI Laboratory Division to FBI Director Louis J. Freeh and senior FBI officials.
   
• U.S. Attorney James B. Comey's Report to Judge Jed S. Rakoff on the Polygraph Interrogation of Abdallah Higazy dated 31 October 2002. FBI polygrapher Michael Templeton extracted a false confession from an innocent suspect.
   
• U.S. Department of the Interior Polygraph Regulation dated 22 May 2000. (Download in WordPerfect format.)
   
• U.S. Department of State Polygraph Policy (33 kb PDF file). 12 FAM 251.
   

• U.S. Patent Office Documents
   
  • Apparatus for Recording Arterial Blood Pressure (485 kb PDF). Leonarde Keeler, inventor. U.S. Patent No. 1,788,434. 13 January 1931.
     
  • Devise for Recording Pulse Waves, Respiration, and Blood Pressure (842 kb PDF). Clarence D. Lee, inventor. U.S. Patent No. 2,235,894. 25 March 1941.
     
  • Electric Psychometer (749 kb PDF). Paul L. Wilhelm and Frank Donald Burns, inventors. U.S. Patent No. 2,535,249. 26 December 1950.
     
  • Polygraph (877 kb PDF). John E. Reid, inventor. U.S. Patent No. 2,538,125. 16 January 1951.
     
  • Detecting and Recording Physiological Changes Accompanying Emotion Stresses (661 kb PDF). Claude C. Barnett and Homer J. Dana, inventors. U.S. Patent No. 2,944,542. 12 July 1960.
     
  • Polygraph Including a Cardiograph with Dicrotic Notch Enhancement (613 kb PDF). Max E. Wastl and Richard L. Poppy, inventors. U.S. Patent No. 3,915,156. 28 October 1975.
     
  • Electronic Cuff to Monitor Blood Pressure in Polygraph Instruments (273 kb PDF). Donald A. Peterson and Henry K. Skrzypczak, inventors. U.S. Patent No. 4,441,504. 10 April 1984.
     
  • Polygraph with Control Adjustment Indicator (611 kb PDF). Michael H. Voelz, inventor. Lafayette Instrument Co., Inc., assignee. U.S. Patent No. 4,779,100. 18 October 1988.
     
  • Apparatus for and Method of Spectral Analysis Enhancement of Polygraph Examinations (392 kb PDF). Robert F. Beatty, inventor. U.S. Patent No. 4,887,607. 19 December 1989.
     
  • Polygraph with Improved Cardiac Monitoring (1.3 mb PDF). Michael H. Voelz, inventor. Lafayette Instrument Co., Inc., assignee. U.S. Patent No. 4,940,059. 10 July 1990.
     
  • Polygraph Automated Scoring System (720 kb PDF). John C. Harris and Dale E. Olsen, inventors. The John Hopkins University, assignee. U.S. Patent No. 5,327,899. 12 July 1994.
     
  • System for and method of detecting polygraph countermeasures. U.S. Patent Application 20020091336. (Download with illustrations as a 728 kb PDF file.)
     
  • Detection of signs of attempted deception and other emotional stresses by detecting changes in weight distribution of a standing or sitting person U.S. Patent Application 20020193707. (Download with illustrations as a 651 kb PDF file.)

• Government Accounting Office (GAO) Reports
   
  • INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES: Federal Agency Views on the Potential Application of "Brain Fingerprinting." A GAO report dated 31 October 2001 to U.S. Senator Charles E. Grassley regarding Dr. Lawrence A. Farwell's "Brain Fingerprinting" technique.
     
• State and Local Polygraph Documents:
   
  • Alaska State Trooper Background Questionnaire (313 kb scanned PDF). Alaska State Trooper applicants are required to complete this questionnaire from the State of Alaska Department of Public Safety prior to pre-employment polygraph screening.
     
  • Arizona Standards and Guidelines for the Effective Management of Adult Sex Offenders on Probation. (631 kb PDF) Draft. May 1999. Includes standards for polygraphy.
     
  • The Value of Polygraph Testing in Sex Offender Management (347 kb PDF) Report prepared for the National Institute of Justice by Diane Patrick, Diane Pasini-Hill, Linda Jones, Sydney Cooley-Towell, and Kim English. December 2000. Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Research & Statistics.
     
  • How is the Post-Conviction Polygraph Examination Used in Adult Sex Offender Management Activities? (533 kb PDF) The Second National Telephone Survey of Probation and Parole Supervisors. Report prepared for the National Institute of Justice by Diane Patrick, Diane Pasini-Hill, Linda Jones, Sydney Cooley-Towell, and Kim English. December 2000. Colorado Department of Public Safety, Division of Criminal Justice, Office of Research & Statistics.
     
  • Illinois Sex Offender Management Board Standards and Guidelines for the Evaluation, Treatment, and Monitoring of Adult and Juvenile Sex Offenders (402 kb PDF). Includes standards for polygraph examinations.
     
  • Los Angeles Police Department Pre-Employment Polygraph Guidelines (346kb PDF). "The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance in the administration of law enforcement pre-employment polygraph examinations for Los Angeles Police Department applicants." Revised 3 December 2004.
     
  • Los Angeles Police Department Polygraph Examination Waiver
     
  • Los Angeles Police Department Polygraph Notification Form (76 kb PDF). This two-page form letter is used to notify LAPD applicants of the time and date of their pre-employment polygraph interrogations, where to report, guidelines to follow, and provides a strip map of Parker Center.
     
  • LAPD polygraph policy recommendation letter from City of Los Angeles Personnel Department General Manager Margaret M. Whelan to the Los Angeles Board of Civil Service Commissioners dated 16 October 2001
     
  • LAPD polygraph policy recommendation letter from City of Los Angeles Personnel Department General Manager Margaret M. Whelan to the Los Angeles Board of Civil Service Commissioners dated 3 January 2001
    • Attachment 1: Recommended revision to Policy 1.13 of the Policies of the Personnel Department, making pre-employment polygraph screening mandatory for LAPD.
    • Attachment 2: Policy 1.13 of the Policies of the Personnel Department (as of 3 Jan. 01)
    • Attachment 3: Recommended deletion from Policy 1.13B.b of reference to the use of independent polygraph examinations
       
  • LAPD Pre-Employment Polygraph Rejection Letter (36 kb PDF) A sample of the form letter that LAPD applicants who do not pass the polygraph receive.
     
  • County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Polygraph Pamphlet (349 kb PDF). An informational pamphlet prepared by the LASD Polygraph Section.
     
  • County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Polygraph Examination Waiver
     
  • Oakland (California) Police Department Lie Detection Screening Devices Policy (24 kb PDF). Dated 16 February 2001. This memorandum sets forth the Oakland Police Department's policy for pre-employment polygraph and CVSA screening.
     
  • Recommended Guidelines for Clinical Polygraph Examinations of Sex Offenders (166 kb PDF). The Joint Polygraph Committee on Offender Testing (JPCOT).Texas Association of Law Enforcement Polygraph Investigators (T.A.L.E.P.I.), Co-Chair. Texas Association of Polygraph Examiners (T.A.P.E.), Co-Chair. Approved by the JPCOT 2 February1998. (Download as an 80 kb WordPerfect 6.1 file.)
     
  • Sexual Harassment Complaint Sustained Against Polygrapher Eric J. Holden. In July 1999, Texas polygraph examiner Eric J. Holden, who specializes in the polygraph screening of convicted sex offenders, was himself the subject of a sexual harassment complaint. The complaint was sustained, and Holden was permanently barred from serving as an instructor at the Texas Department of Public Safety's polygraph school.
     
  • Utah Network on Juveniles Offending Sexually Polygraphy Examination Policy (373 kb PDF). See the Utah Network on Juveniles Offending Sexually website for more on this quasi-official organization. (Download as a 358 kb Microsoft Word file.)
     
• Miscellaneous Documents:
   
  • The Myth of the Lie Detector. English translation of "Usturah jahaz kashf al-kidhb" (The Myth of the Lie Detector), an article published in the Iraqi jihadist Al-Fath magazine, No. 1, Dhu al-Qa'dah 1425 (December 2004), pp. 19-23.
     
  • Al-Qaeda Documentation on Lie Detection. Extract on instrumental lie detection from Al-Qaeda's Encyclopedia of Jihad.
     
  • Jeffrey K. Skilling's Polygraph Report. (414 kb PDF) Paul K. Minor's 1-page report of his polygraph examination of indicted Enron executive Jeffrey K. Skilling conducted on 4 December 2001 at the request of Elizabeth Baird of the Washington, D.C. lawfirm of O'Melveny and Myers.
     
  • FBI Polygraph Interrogation of Nazi Spy Suspect Ignatz T. Griebl (4.5 mb PDF). Griebl escaped to Germany after the FBI relaxed its surveillance based on polygraph results. For discussion, see First FBI Counterintelligence Use of the Polygraph Allowed Nazi Spy Suspect to Escape.
     
  • William Moulton Marston's FBI file (736 kb PDF). Marston created and popularlized the lie detector. See discussion of the significance of this file here.
     
  • 1938 razor blade advertisement featuring William M. Marston, who popularized the "lie detector." The ad proclaims, "Now! Lie Detector Charts Emotional Effects of Shaving!" Writing under the pen name "Charles Moulton," Dr. Marston later created the cartoon character Wonder Woman, whose magic lasso compelled those held in its coils to speak nothing but the truth. (high res 5.2 mb PDF | low res 1.8 mb PDF)
     

Polygraph Hearings and Correspondence

• U.S. Department of Energy. In September 1999, the Department of Energy held a series of public hearings on its then-proposed polygraph rule. DOE scientists and engineers roundly -- and eloquently -- condemned the plan, but the decision to implement polygraph screening had already been made and their criticism fell on deaf bureaucratic ears. These transcripts, prepared by DOE, make for very interesting reading on polygraph policy and help explain why DOE scientists so strongly oppose polygraph screening:
   
  • 14 September 1999 Morning session of hearing held at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) (135kb PDF)
     
  • 14 September 1999 Afternoon session of hearing held at LLNL (105kb PDF)
     
  • 16 September 1999 Hearing held at Sandia National Laboratories (191kb PDF)
     
  • 17 September 1999 Hearing held at Los Alamos National Laboratory (297kb PDF)
     
  • 22 September 1999 Hearing held at DOE Headquarters, Washington, DC (66kb PDF)
     
• U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Administrative Oversights and the Courts. Senate Hearing 105-431. A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Laboratory: Beyond the Inspector General Report. 29 September 1997.

  Supervisory Special Agent Drew C. Richardson, the FBI's most qualified polygraph expert, blows the whistle on polygraph screening. The Bureau has since then exercised prior restraint to keep him from publicly speaking the truth about polygraphs.
   

  • Opening Statement of SSA Drew C. Richardson. Dr. Richardson testifies that "[polygraph screening] is completely without any theoretical foundation and has absolutely no validity" and that "anyone can be taught to beat this type of polygraph exam in a few minutes."
     
  • Letter dated 21 Oct. 1997 from Sen. Charles E. Grassley to FBI Laboratory Division director Dr. Donald M. Kerr requesting a response on grounds of science to Dr. Richardson's charges. Sen. Grassely adds, "If Dr. Richardson is correct, polygraph screening should be banned from the FBI." (Download this letter as a 128kb scanned PDF file.)
     
  • Letter dated 28 Oct. 1997 from Dr. Kerr to Sen. Grassley, failing to comply with the latter's request for a response to Dr. Richardson's charges on grounds of science. (Download this letter as a 132kb scanned PDF file.)
     
  • Statement by Sen. Grassley dated 21 October 1997 responding to the appointment of Dr. Kerr as FBI Assistant Director for the Laboratory Division. Sen. Grassley warns that "the American people cannot trust what the FBI tells them."
     
  • Memorandum from Dr. Richardson to Dr. Kerr dated 13 September 1999. Dr. Richardson again brings his serious concerns about polygraph screening to the attention of the FBI Laboratory director.
     
  • Follow-up Memorandum from Dr. Richardson to Dr. Kerr dated 25 October 1999, providing a damning analysis of polygraph screening from both a scientific viewpoint and as a practical matter.
     
• U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Issues Surrounding the Use of Polygraphs. Senate Hearing 107-294, 25 April 2001.
   
  • Full Hearing Report Includes submitted written remarks, hearing transcripts, statements submitted for the record, and follow-up correspondence. (1.1 mb PDF)
     
  • Senator Orrin G. Hatch. Senator Hatch chaired this hearing.
     
  • Senator Patrick J. Leahy Senator Leahy is the ranking Democratic member of the committee.
     
  • Michael H. Capps, Deputy Director for Developmental Programs, Defense Security Service, Alexandria, Virginia
     
    • Follow-up letters in response to questions from Senators Leahy and Grassley.
       
  • William G. Iacono, Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
     
    • Follow-up letter in response to questions from Senators Leahy and Grassley. (Download as a 24kb word-searchable PDF file.)
       
  • Jeffrey H. Smith, Esq., Partner, Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C.
     
  • Mark S. Zaid, Esq., Lobel, Novins, & LaMont, Washington, D.C. (Download this file in Microsoft Word format.)
     
    • Exhibit 1; "several sworn declarations executed by former FBI applicants who detail their ordeals at the hands of FBI polygraphers" (371 kb scanned PDF)
       
    • Exhibit 2; "several sworn declarations executed by former USSS applicants who detail their ordeals at the hands of USSS polygraphers" (286 kb scanned PDF)
       
    • Follow-up letter in response to questions from Senators Leahy and Grassley. (Download as a 26 kb word-searchable PDF file.)
       
  • Richard W. Keifer, past president, American Polygraph Association
     
    • Follow-up letters in response to questions from Senators Grassley and Leahy.
       
  • George W. Maschke, AntiPolygraph.org. Written statement submitted for the record. (Download this file in PDF format.)
     
• U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Oversight Hearing on the Department of Energy Polygraph Program, 4 September 2003.
   
  • Kyle E. McSlarrow, Deputy Secretary of Energy.
     
  • Stephen E. Fienberg, Chair of the National Research Council's Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph. Amended written statement submitted after the hearing in light of Kyle E. McSlarrow's surprise announcement of changes to the DOE's polygraph policy. (Download amended statement as a 110 kb PDF file.)
     
  • Stephen E. Fienberg, Chair of the National Research Council's Committee to Review the Scientific Evidence on the Polygraph. Original written statement.
     
• Kansas Polygraph Protection Act of 2000. (This polygraph reform bill died in committee.)
   
  • House Bill 2725: The Kansas Polygraph Protection Act of 2000
     
  • Testimony of Robert Beattie, Esq. before the Kansas House of Representatives dated 6 March 2000. (Download this file in Microsoft Word format)
     
  • Letter from Robert M. Beattie Jr., Esq. to Kansas House of Representatives Federal and State Affairs Committee Chairman Tony Powell dated 8 March 2000. Of special interest in this letter is Mr. Beattie's explanation of how the FBI prohibited Supervisory Special Agent Drew C. Richardson, the Bureau's leading expert on polygraphy, from testifying before the Kansas House of Representatives. (Rep. Powell did not respond to Mr. Beattie's letter.) (Download this file in Microsoft Word format)