Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Brendan I. Koerner writes for The Village Voice. Excerpt: Q: I’ve been asked by a potential employer to take a lie-detector test. There was a fair amount of pot smoking in my distant past, and I’m worried it’ll disqualify me from the job, which I desperately need. Aren’t there ways to beat the machine? Before …
The Saipan Times has published a letter to the editor from AntiPolygraph.org co-founder George Maschke. Excerpt: The CMNI Department of Public Safety’s decision to require Police Academy applicants to take polygraph tests beginning January 2003 is a mistake. The U.S. National Academy of Sciences has recently completed a detailed study of polygraph screening and found …
Denver Post staff writer Ryan Morgan reports. Excerpt: Thursday, December 26, 2002 – Ben Aragon swears he’s telling the truth. The polygraph machine he’s hooked up to isn’t so sure. So Aragon, who has been taking polygraph exams since he was put on probation for sexually assaulting his girlfriend two years ago, is fighting the …
The following short article from the KETV website is cited here in full: OMAHA, Neb. — A racial slur found inside an Omaha police precinct has one city council member upset. Councilman Frank Brown said he wants police to take a lie-detector test. The slur was found on Thanksgiving Day inside the northeast precinct. Omaha …
Omaha World Herald staff writer Karyn Spencer reports in an article titled, “Closer look into slur requested.” Councilman Frank Brown will ask the Omaha City Council to press for further investigation into who wrote a racial slur at a police precinct. Brown said Monday he plans to introduce a resolution Jan. 7 asking the Police …
Saipan Tribune staff reporter Edith G. Alejandro reports. Excerpt: The Department of Public Safety yesterday disclosed that applicants for the new batch of the Police Academy will undergo polygraph test in January 2003 prior to the release of the names of those who will be accepted to the institution. Police Commissioner Edward Camacho and officer-in-charge …
Ryan Goudelocke reports for The Advocate of Baton Rouge, Louisana. Excerpt: They’re called “lie detectors” for a reason: For decades polygraph operators have claimed the ability to sniff out deception by asking searching questions and watching squiggly lines drawn on paper. And it’s a staple of crime fiction: Usually there’s a harshly lit room where …
Jennifer Muir and Emma Perez-Treviño report for the Brownsville, Texas Herald in an article titled, “Sheriff holds off on staff changes.” Excerpt: Administrative debates temporarily staved off Sheriff Conrado Cantu’s plan to restructure a troubled county jail staff Monday, but Cameron County’s top lawman said his department will continue considering options this week as his …
Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett reports in an article titled, “Wrongly Jailed Student Sues Agent, Hotel Over 9/11 Aviation Radio Probe.” Excerpt: NEW YORK — An Egyptian student wrongly jailed for a month as a suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks filed a $20 million lawsuit Thursday against the FBI agent who extracted his false …
Staff writer Steven Mayer of the Bakersfield Californian reports. Excerpt: When Escondido police questioned 14-year-old Michael Crowe in the days following the 1998 stabbing death of his 12-year-old sister, investigators used a Computer Voice Stress Analyzer during the interrogation. The analyzer — a lie detector of sorts used by an estimated 1,300 police agencies in …