Original reporting and commentary about polygraphs, voice stress analyzers, and other purported "lie detectors."
Los Alamos Monitor assistant editor Roger Snodrass reports on a recent talk by Professor William G. Iacono at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Excerpt: Conventional “lie-detecting” is an outdated and dubious practice that is inherently biased against innocent people. That is the conclusion of William Iacono, a psychology professor from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, who …
n his electronic newsletter, Secrecy News, Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy reports: ASHCROFT ON POLYGRAPH TESTING Attorney General John Ashcroft gave a qualified endorsement to polygraph testing at the FBI at a press conference yesterday. “It’s my understanding that there have been cases in the past that polygraphing …
In an article entitled “FBI to Expand Polygraph Testing After Spy Case,” Reuters correspondent James Vicini notes that Attorney General John Ashcroft said in a press conference that he knows polygraph screening “tests” to have a 15% false positive rate. (Ashcroft’s actual words were, “The polygraph is said to have about 15 percent false positives…”) …
Confusing “more polygraphs” with “greater security,” ABC News reports that the FBI has decided to expand polygraph screening. Excerpt: W A S H I N G T O N, March 1 — FBI Director Louie Freeh is planning new measures to improve internal security in the wake of the Hanssen spy probe — including random …
This Christian Science Monitor editorial advocates increased reliance on polygraph screening by the FBI. Excerpt: We will find spies and we will prosecute them,” said President Bush at his first press conference last week. But catching a spy red-handed, as the FBI apparently did with agent Robert Hanssen this month, is like trying to dazzle …
In this Washington Post op-ed piece, former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal writer Ronald Kessler says that FBI Director Louis Freeh should be fired for not having required routine polygraph “testing” for FBI counterintelligence personnel. Mr. Kessler obviously doesn’t know about “the lie behind the lie detector.” Excerpt: Back in 1994, just after the …
This editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel takes a sober look at calls for more polygraph “testing” in the FBI. Excerpt: The government’s latest spy scandal is putting enormous pressure on the FBI to make greater use of polygraph tests. The reason is the disclosure that accused spy Robert Philip Hanssen had never been given …
ABC News reports. Excerpt: Learning Lessons Attorney General John Ashcroft promised Wednesday to search for answers as to why Hanssen’s alleged spying went undetected. Ashcroft appointed former CIA and FBI Director William Webster to review FBI security procedures and recommend changes that could prevent future incidents. After the Ames spy case. the CIA overhauled its …
CNN.com reports that the FBI has decided to proceed with a program of randomly polygraphing all of its employees. As a symbolic gesture, officials said the first employee tested will likely be Director Louis Freeh, followed by the deputy director and other assistant directors. Officials admitted there is a cultural stigma to overcome at the …
Los Angeles Times staff writers Eric Lichtblau and Eric Anderson report. Excerpt: WASHINGTON–Former FBI and CIA chief William H. Webster said Wednesday that he plans to examine whether the FBI–long reluctant to require periodic polygraph testing of its agents–should use polygraphs more aggressively to ferret out possible spies. Webster, who will assess the fallout from …