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Author
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Topic: Polygraph test or not????
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Ted Todd
Member
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posted 10-04-2003 05:53 PM
 
This may seem like I am splitting hairs here but I would like to know how other agencies are dealing with this issue.My agency requires that I track and log my time spent doing polygraphs. I have been getting a lot of confessions lately during the pre test interviews. My agency feels that unless I actually crank out some charts, then I did not do a polygraph exam. I beleive that "charts" are only one phase of an extensive exam. I did the case review, formed the questions, interviewed the suspect and then obtained a confession. I feel that this is ALL "Polygraph time". I would not have even been involved in the case had the suspect not agreed to take a polygraph. What do you all think? Also, do any of you ever polygraph a suspect after a confession to verify the confession??? THX Ted IP: Logged |
J.B. McCloughan
Administrator
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posted 10-04-2003 11:47 PM
Ted,There are four opinions of which I report and they are truthful, deceptive, incomplete, and inconclusive. I consider a pre-test confession an incomplete test and log/track it as such. The pre-test phase is part of the polygraph and you will most likely run into those who you cannot stop from doing the so aforemention. There are circumstances when charts may need to be run after a confession has been obtained. For instance, a subject is a co-defendant and his/her testimony is planed for use against another's. In this situation, a confirmation test on the truthfulness of his/her statement may be required after the full confession. If you run charts after a lengthy discussion of the crime which took place in an interrogatory setting, you will most likely cause yourself more headaches than not. I hope this information helps you. If you need further, just let me know what more you need and I would be glad to help. [This message has been edited by J.B. McCloughan (edited 10-04-2003).] IP: Logged |
polyops
Member
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posted 10-06-2003 11:20 AM
Ted,Why is this distinction (whether a test that ends with a pre-test confession counts as "polygraph time") important? Is your agency paying or rating you differently on this basis?
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It's a thankless job, but somebody's gotta do it.
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John Patterson
Member
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posted 10-07-2003 07:32 AM
My belief is that once you enter the polygraph suite with the examinee, your expertise as a trained polygraph examiner begins. You have been trained to detect lies and solicit the truth. If this is done without conducting any charts, then you have done your job successfully. I log this as a completed exam in my book because I have accomplished what I was trained to do.
Good Job!IP: Logged |
Ted Todd
Member
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posted 10-07-2003 04:52 PM
John and Polyops,I do polygraphs in addition to carrying a full investigative case load. If I spend two hours in a pretest and obtain a confession, then I should get the credit for polygraph time. It accounts for what I have done in any given day. In other words, I don't want my admin people saying "You only did one polygraph this week" when the reality is, I may have only run one set of charts, but I conducted two additional pre-POLYGRAPH interviews which took several hours and resulted in confessions. Ted IP: Logged |
polyops
Member
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posted 10-11-2003 01:10 AM
Ted,If the administration is not going to count pre-test confessions as polygraph time, then what I would do is to keep a personal log of all such exams in case you ever need to account for your time. ------------------
It's a thankless job, but somebody's gotta do it.
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Ted Todd
Member
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posted 10-11-2003 02:37 PM
It's not like the admin boys are following me around with a stopwatch. When our second examiner retired, they never replaced him and now I do all the exams. When the bean counters are adding up time spent on polygraphs, I want them to have an accurate accounting of exactly how much time is involved and not just the number of tests run. I do like the two time log suggestion.IP: Logged |
J.B. McCloughan
Administrator
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posted 10-11-2003 08:16 PM
Ted,If it is all about bean counting, which to administration much of it is, include the pre-test confessions as incomplete exams due to confessions or what ever else may cause the incomplete. If they had paid for a private exam and the subject confessed in the pre-test, they still would have had to pay the private examiner.
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Lieguy_Chip
unregistered
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posted 10-21-2003 01:33 PM
Hi;I also carry an investigative caseload and do polygraphs. When I get a suspect in for the pre-test interview, and they confess, I write it down as a polygraph.....period. Every school in the country says that a polygraph starts when the subject first sees the examiner and continues through the pre-test, test and post-test. So, anything that arises in the pre-test is a polygraph. Chip Morgan
Detective
Boise Police Department
Boise, Idaho
chipm@cityofboise.org
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Ted Todd
Member
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posted 10-21-2003 02:55 PM
Chip,I like the way you think! Keep it up! Ted IP: Logged |
NCPolyCop
Member
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posted 12-13-2003 09:02 PM
I agree with Chip; the most important items in my log are the start time/finish time of the test (justifies my time spent on testing as I carry a full case load as well) and the results/confession (success of the polygraph). There is no distinction for pre or post test confession. IP: Logged |
J.B. McCloughan
Administrator
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posted 12-13-2003 10:02 PM
NCPolyCop,Welcome to the discussion board. It is great to see another participant. J.B.
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