Brad Burke of the Peoria Journal Star reports. Excerpt:
DUNLAP – Several intangibles will play key roles in determining whether 10 Dunlap High School student-athletes pass school-mandated lie-detector tests planned for next week, a longtime polygrapher said Friday.
Harry Reed, president of the Illinois Polygraph Society and a Chicago-based polygrapher for the Illinois State Police, said the examiner administering the tests and the setting in which they are given will influence the final results.
“Who and where you give the test are very important,” said Reed, who declined to become involved in the Dunlap case. “You would select a polygrapher much the same way you select a lawyer to defend you in a murder case or a surgeon to perform open-heart surgery on you.”
That’s the case in Dunlap, where school officials and the students’ parents are meticulously negotiating the terms of polygraph tests hoping to gauge the athletes’ involvement in an alcoholic party earlier this month.
As of Friday, all 10 students – most of whom are varsity football players – still planned to proceed with the polygraphs, according to Matt Jones, an attorney representing the parents.
The tests likely will take place next week, although Jones said neither side has agreed on the specific arrangements.
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Where the tests take place and who conducts them could mean the difference between accurate and inconclusive results, especially considering the youth of the students, Reed said.
“As you go down the age and maturity scales, there’s more chance of an inconclusive test,” he said.
Younger people tend to have short attention spans, making them more likely to fidget or become nervous during an examination, Reed said. That behavior, which sometimes influences the results, is amplified during tests given in noisy or intimidating environments like police stations or offices, he added.
To reduce anxiety, Reed suggested conducting the tests in a serene environment where there will be minimal distractions. The parents and the school agree, and both sides hope to find a neutral site, Jones said.
Another important factor will be the polygrapher, who asks the questions and interprets a subject’s impulses to determine whether he or she is being truthful.
Jones would not say which polygraphers are being considered, although parents or school administrators have contacted a number of local and state polygraphers, including Reed, who refused to participate.
As for the notion of “beating” or “tricking” polygraphers, Reed doesn’t buy into the hype. Several Web sites and books offer ways to fool polygraphs, but Reed said experienced professionals easily detect attempts to foil the tests.
“They would have to be a very, very sophisticated person to manipulate the results,” he said.
Illinois Polygraph Society (IPS) president Harry Reed should speak with Dr. Drew C. Richardson, the FBI’s recently-retired senior scientific expert on polygraphy. In 1997, he testified before a U.S. Senate subcommittee that anyone can be taught to beat a polygraph “test” in a few minutes. See also George Maschke’s Public Challenge to IPS President Harry Reed on the AntiPolygraph.org message board.