Author archives

Bill Gertz on Use of Polygraph by FBI and Other Federal Agencies

In “Spy case reveals FBI failings,” Washington Times reporter Bill Gertz discusses the use of polygraph screening by the FBI and other agencies. Mr. Gertz seems to equate polygraphs with security, opening his article, “The arrest of Robert P. Hanssen on charges he spied for Moscow has exposed weaknesses in FBI internal security, including document-handling …

FBI May Consider Random Polygraph Screening in Wake of Hanssen Espionage Case

In an article entitled “Invisible on the Inside,” Walter Pincus and Vernon Loeb of the Washington Post report that the FBI may consider expanding its polygraph program to include random “testing” of personnel in the wake of the Robert P. Hanssen espionage case, and reveal that a plan has been on the shelf for three …

DOE Polygraph Program Put on Hold

In an article entitled “Lab Security Measures Shelved Pending Study,” Washington Post staff writer Walter Pincus suggests that expanded polygraph screening has been suspended pending a review. Excerpt: In his last days in office, former energy secretary Bill Richardson temporarily suspended a series of measures that had been taken over the past two years to …

Shawnee County, KS Approves Funds for Polygraph

In an article entitled, “Sheriff’s department to get polygraph equipment,” Alicia Henrikson of the Topeka Capital-Journal writes: County commissioners approved the purchase of a polygraph instrument and polygraph training for a sheriff’s deputy on Thursday in a 3-0 vote at the county commission meeting. The cost for the instrument, training and a laptop computer is …

Shawnee County, Kansas Sheriff’s Office Asks for Polygraph

In an article entitled, “Sheriff’s office asks county for polygraph,” Alicia Henrikson of the Topeka Capital-Journal writes: The Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department has never had anyone trained to operate a polygraph instrument. The department has never had such a need because it doesn’t have a polygraph. That may be about to change. The sheriff’s department …

Mention of “Polygraph” Prompts Mistrial

Patrick E. Gauen of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes on the case of Rodney Woidtke, who was being retried for murder in Bellevue, Illinois: Polygraph, or lie-detector, tests are not admissible in Illinois courts, and case law suggests that mere mention of the word can be considered poison to a jury’s fairness.

“Domenici Wants Review Committee to Weigh Polygraph Benefits to DOE Lab Security”

In a press release occasioned by the commencement of the National Academy of Sciences’ polygraph review, Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) expresses his concerns about the Department of Energy’s use of polygraphs: “I hope the work of this committee, backed by the NAS, will give us an objective analysis of polygraphs, and help determine the necessity …