Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
In “Confessions of a Detected Liar,” Novelist and short story writer Will Shetterly relates the story of how he twice failed polygraph “tests” despite telling the truth. See also the comments left by polygraph operator Louis Rovner of Los Angeles attempting to rationalize away the polygraph’s error and mischaracterizing the findings of the National Academy …
British polygraph operator Bruce Burgess, who conducts lie detector tests for tawdry TV talk shows in the UK, has been caught attempting to lie his way out of a speeding ticket by falsely claiming that he was not the driver. According to the UK Press Association, Burgess has been given a suspended 24-week prison sentence, …
Jon Ostendorff reports for the Asheville Citizen-Times that North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Chris Smith, who supervises the Bureau’s polygraph unit, will not be criminally prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a suspect he had polygraphed. Although not specifically mentioned in the article, it would appear that no video recording was made of the …
Jon Ostendorff reports for the Asheville Citizen-Times that the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations’ senior polygraph examiner, Special Agent Chris Smith, who supervises all the Bureau’s polygraphers, was arrested and charged with assault in August 2009. Smith is currently free on $200,000 bond: SYLVA — The State Bureau of Investigation’s top polygraph agent is …
Polygraph operator Patrick T. Coffey of San Francisco has threatened AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke with a defamation lawsuit. In a letter (877 kb PDF) dated 4 September 2009 sent by U.S. mail and fax, Coffey’s attorney, Carleton L. Briggs, demands “a full and complete retraction” of the 20 August 2009 blog post, “Is Patrick T. …
Following up on his previous article on the San Francisco Police Department’s reliance on polygraph screening–despite broad scientific consensus that it is invalid–S.F. Weekly reporter Matt Smith takes an in-depth look at the man the SFPD has hired to polygraph applicants: Patrick T. Coffey, who received “$81,463 during the last fiscal year” for his services. …
In a well-researched article, S.F. Weekly reporter Matt Smith critically examines the SFPD’s reliance on polygraphy for applicant screening, despite it being completely discredited among scientists. Those interviewed include retired FBI scientist Dr. Drew Richardson, Professor Stephen Fienberg, who headed a National Academy of Sciences panel that reviewed the scientific evidence on polygraphy, and polygraph …
Emory University professor of psychology Scott Lilienfeld, who pens Psychology Today’s The Skeptical Psychologist blog, lambastes polygraphy (and the U.S. government’s continued reliance on this pseudoscience) in an article titled, “The Polygraph Strikes–and Strikes Out–Again.”
Fox 26 News KRVI in Houston, Texas reports that all employees at the Houston Fire Department’s Station 54 will be asked to submit to lie detector “testing” in a racial and sexual harassment investigation: HOUSTON – FOX 26 has learned that every employee at Houston Fire Department Fire Station 54 will be asked to take …
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has proposed polygraph screening for members of Congress who receive CIA briefings. Susan Crabtree reports for The Hill: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) wants fellow lawmakers who receive classified CIA briefings to submit to polygraph tests. “We should have a very high standard for those who are briefed by CIA — to …