AntiPolygraph.org has received the following note through an anonymous remailer:
No wonder polygraph tests are often faulty: students attending Joseph Paolella's 'American Academy of Forensic Sciences' Polygraph Academy themselves are ripped off! Promised that they would receive the class as approved/registered with the State of California's Bureau of Post Secondary Education as 360 hours, instead they get under 100! They attend 3 days per week (Tues, Thurs, Fri), 10am to 2pm. That's 12 hours per week, for 8 weeks, totalling 96 hours! Fraudulent advertising, scam, whatever; no wonder they won't even try to get APA approval. Students don't complain-- they are all from Workers Comensation Vocational Rehabilitation, so they can't get their big $$$ payout until they finish their training. That school licensing board (above) is currently investigating multiple complaints about the deception in the advertising.
The California Department of Consumer Affairs
Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education
Directory of Approved Institutions - Non-Degree (http://www.bppve.ca.gov/directories/non_degree.pdf) (1.7 mb PDF) includes the following entry at p. 40 (emphasis added):
Quote
1. School Name: AMERICAN ACADEMY OF FORENSIC SCIENCES
School Code: 37953949
Physical Address:
4311 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 314
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Mailing Address:
4311 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 314
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Phone: (323) 965-7506
Fax: ()
Conact Person: Joseph Paolella
Title: CEO
2. Approved*/Registered** Programs Offered:
Computer Operations -- Date Approved: 10/6/03 -- 300.00 hours (Hours)
Polygraph Examiner -- Date Approved: 10/6/03 -- 360.00 hours (Hours)
Private Investigator -- Date Approved: 10/6/03 -- 240.00 hours (Hours)
Private Police / Security Officer -- Date Approved: 10/6/03 -- 180.00 hours (Hours)
Video and Media Communications -- Date Approved: 10/6/03 -- 144.00 hours (Hours)
3. Approved Branch Locations:
NO BRANCH LOCATIONS
4. Approved Satellite Locations:
NO SATELLITE LOCATIONS
Incidentally, the inclusion of Mr. Paolella's school in this catalog should not be taken to confer credibility to polygraphy. The very next entry in the catalog is for a school that teaches the pseudoscience of reflexology (http://skepdic.com/reflex.html). Also included are an "A Diamond Holistic (http://skepdic.com/holistic.html) Massage Institute," a "Pacific Academy of Homeopathy (http://skepdic.com/homeo.html)," a "Healing Hands School of Holistic Health," and a "Touch Therapy (http://skepdic.com/tt.html) Institute."