CourtTV had an interesting documentary Called "The Interrogation of Michael Crowe". This show pointed out how Escondido Police illegally obtained confessions by 14 yr old Michael Crowe and his friends that they murdered Michaels 12 year old sister.
The detectives in this case coerced him into taking a CVSA test to help verify information. After watching this segment it is apparent that the CVSA is probably worse in terms of being "accurate" than a poly. After all if your voice has a certain "pattern" (a christmas tree shape) when analyzed, then you are not "deceptive". If a more flat pattern appears, then you are "deceptive". The CVSA is someones attempt to get rich with an instrument that will never be scientifically verified as accurate.
As a footnote, The defense attorneys found out that a transient was seen in the neighborhood knocking on doors the same night the girl was killed. He was in jail on another charge and investigators got the sweatshirt he was wearing and with DNA testing of blood stains found on it, discovered that the blood stains were Michael Crowes sisters, forcing the DA to drop charges in the case. The detectives went crying on radio saying that they conducted "clean, legal, and ethical"interrogations of Michael Crowe. They also stood behind the CVSA, claimimg it is accurate and that they still believe the boy did it. The DA never filed murder charges against the transient and Michael's parents have filed a federal lawsuit against Escondido PD and San Diego County
The Court TV website has a page on this story:
http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/thesystem/g_p_episodes/interrogation_of_crowe.html
An additional page has video segments in RealPlayer format as well as other documentation:
http://www.courttv.com/onair/shows/mugshots/indepth/crowe.html
The following RealPlayer file provides Prof. Richard Ofshe's advice to innocent people facing interrogation by a police officer. The same advice is applicable to those who are asked to submit to CVSA or polygraph "tests" (which are little more than interrogations in disguise):
http://playlist.broadcast.com/makeplaylist.dll?SID=1242902
after watching these poor children being tortured for hours, I have one question, how can this be allowed to continue in a so called civilized country????????????????????????????
God !! I am applying to a law enforcement agency and this sort of thing really makes me think twice as to if I want anything to do with it when I see things that make me think we are living behind an iron curtain that nobody sees......
I am truly saddened
Gentlemen,
Check out the Following Article:
http://www.abanet.org/genpractice/magazine/tpg/palmatr.html
This piece, from the American Bar Association's online magazine, ferrets out a lot of the "truth" behind CVSA. First of all, the only tests concluding that the device is more accurate than flipping a coin were done by the manufacturer! More importantly, it seems that the company actually made threats to derail a police department that had purchased the device from engaging in validity tests of it. I find it amazing that any agency might actually rely on the results of the device.
CourtTV has produced a new made-for-television movie about the Michael Crowe case. It shares the same title as the earlier documentary: "The Interrogation of Michael Crowe." The movie will air on Saturday, 7 Dec. at 8 PM (Eastern/Pacific) and Sunday, 8 Dec. at 6 PM (Eastern/Pacific). For details see:
http://www.courttv.com/movie/crowe/index.html
Tom Jicha of the South Florida
Sun Sentinal reviews "The Interrogation of Michael Crowe" in a 4 Dec. 2002 column titled "Cops give third degree to teen in fact-based Court TV movie." (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=sfl%2Dtvtjinterrogationdec04) Jicha writes, in part:
QuoteThe cops roll in a machine, which they tell Michael is a voice stress analyzer to see if he is lying. The device is a total sham, a creatively constructed set of lights and gauges with no more ability to detect lying than a Christmas tree. However, detectives tell Michael it indicates he is being deceptive when he says he had nothing to do with the murder and has no idea who might have committed it -- which turns out to be the absolute truth.