In a press release with the foregoing title, Tri-Star International of Coronado, California, announces that it is marketing a voice stress analyzer for passenger screening. The press release, distributed by Internet Wire, is reproduced in full here:
SAN DIEGO, CA — (INTERNET WIRE) — 10/11/2001 — Tri-Star International announced today their Voice Stress analyzer has been successfully tested in a public environment and will now be marketed as a passenger screening-security device. The device measures several factors in the voice and to determine if the speaker is being evasive. Voice stress analysis was tested by the United States Air Force in their Research Laboratory and determined that the voice stress technology worked as stated. Darren Haddad, program manager in the directorate’s Information and Intelligence Exploitation Division stated, “We concluded that several features in an individual’s speech pattern are different under stress.” In a test performed by the Department of Defense Polygraph Institute using two tapes of murder suspects under investigation and who eventually confessed their guilt, it was stated “Using voice stress analysis was accurate 45 out of 45 instances.”
The Air Force Research Laboratory has proposed additional testing, while Tri-Star International (TSI) the manufacturer of a voice stress analyzer, will begin to market the product to the transportation industry as a screening tool at ticket counters and security checkpoints. The founder of TSI stated, “The detection of someone with criminal intent is a must in every public transportation facility, and voice stress technology will be an essential tool in that process.” He went on to say “If voice stress technology causes a person with criminal intent to wonder if they can pass the screening, this will cause additional stress making detection even easier.” “Had voice stress been in use and detected even one of the terrorists on September 11th, how much of a difference would there be today?” “Would one of the WTC towers be standing?” “I don’t know, but I think we owe it to ourselves to use every tool available to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
For information: www.tri-starinternational.com – Contact: info@tri-starinternational.com – Phone: 888-500-7827
Tri-Star International – 826 Orange Ave #136 – Coronado, CA 92118-2619
Contact: Robert Townsend
Phone: 888-500-7827
URL: http://www.tri-starinternational.com
Like polygraphy, voice stress analysis as a means of lie detection is unsupported by peer-reviewed scientific research. While we may well “owe it to ourselves to use every tool available to ensure this doesn’t happen again” as the founder of Tri-Star International states, we also owe it to ourselves not to be fooled by junk science.