The Associated Press reports in this article published on AZCentral.com:
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s governmental National Human Rights Commission recommended Sunday that police, government agencies and investigators not use tests involving polygraphs, also known as lie detector tests.
The commission said the tests “violate human rights” because they represent an invasion of privacy and their use is not adequately regulated.
Several Mexican police agencies have used polygraphs in vetting procedures to weed out potentially corrupt or untrustworthy officers.
The commission, whose recommendations authorities must respond to either by obeying or objecting, also advised government agencies not to use the tests in hiring or employee evaluation until adequate guidelines are drawn up.
It said police should not use lie detectors on witnesses or suspects.
The problem, according to the commission, is that subjects are often pressured into taking the tests out of fear of what examiners would think if they refused.
The commission said most subjects would probably be in a “position of disadvantage” in the face of an employer, superior or investigator who asked them to take a test, and thus may be incapable of freely choosing whether to submit or not.