Lie Detection Expert Says Polygraph is Unbeatable  http://www.seopressreleases.com/lie-detection-expert-polygraph-unbeatable/4972
     
Dr. Louis Rovner

    
Los Angeles, CA, November 4, 2009 - "Almost no human being can beat a polygraph test," says Dr. Louis Rovner <http://www.polygraph-west.com/>, a noted scientist and polygraph expert in Los Angeles, California. In fact, lie detection technology has become so sophisticated that a polygraph can now detect a person's efforts to try to beat the test, according to Polygraph Reality <http://www.polygraphreality.wordpress.com/>, Dr. Rovner's blog.
Several websites claim that they can teach people how to beat a polygraph test. All a person has to do is supply them with a credit card number or, in one case, download the information for free. However, most polygraph examiners know that time and money spent on that information is wasted, since scientific research has shown that attempts to beat a polygraph test (called countermeasures) are futile.
Dr. Rovner says that the idea of beating a polygraph test after reading a short book is absurd. "This is about the same as saying that you will be able to beat Tiger Woods in a golf tournament by simply reading a book about golf." The interplay between the sophisticated technology of the polygraph <http://www.polygraphreality.wordpress.com/>, the knowledge and experience of the examiner, and the involuntary physiological reactions of the subject is so complex that almost no one can appear truthful on the polygraph when he is lying.
"Beating the polygraph," says Rovner, "is impossible for just about everybody." The polygraph is a scientific instrument which records physiological changes in our bodies. Polygraph examiners are trained to look for subtle abnormalities in these changes as a person answers a series of questions. The changes, he says, are involuntary reactions that occur in our bodies when we are not being truthful. "In order to beat the test," he says, "a person must use his central nervous system to override the involuntary activity of the autonomic nervous system, and he must do it on cue, every 25 seconds or so." Given the anxiety of a typical polygraph subject, it is extremely unlikely that anyone could successfully fool a competent polygraph examiner.

Scientific research into polygraph accuracy http://www.polygraphwest.com/ has been going on for more than 40 years. "Overall," says Dr. Rovner, "we are confident that polygraph tests have an accuracy rate as high as 96% when done properly." That statement is backed up by hundreds of research studies and experiments. Rovner's own published research is one of the studies which show that people cannot beat a polygraph test simply by reading about polygraph techniques.
Dr. Rovner has been a polygraph examiner since 1976. He is one many scientists who have published research regarding polygraph accuracy and countermeasures. Dr. Rovner had polygraph tests admitted into criminal court.  He has taught at two polygraph schools in California and has spoken at numerous training seminars and workshops. He is a member of the American Polygraph Association, the National Polygraph Association, ASTM, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Psychophysiological Research, and the American Psychology-Law Society.

Sex offenders face lie-detector tests
Tuesday, October 27, 2009, 09:10
PAEDOPHILES and rapists in Staffordshire are having to take lie-detector tests in a bid to stop them re-offending.
They must take regular tests as a condition of their release from prison and could be sent back to custody if they refuse as a breach of parole.
Staffordshire Probation Service is one of nine areas taking part in a new three-year trial of polygraph sessions on sex offenders.
It comes as figures released yesterday showed 694 registered sex offenders were living in Staffordshire on March 31 - two fewer than the previous year.
Of these, 233 were living in Stoke-on-Trent, 119 in the North Staffordshire division, which covers Newcastle http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/newcastle borough and the Moorlands, and 186 in Chase division, which includes Stone http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/stone and Stafford.
Twenty of the most dangerous sex offenders are currently subject to the lie-detector tests.
Barbara Jones, head of Stoke-on-Trent Probation Delivery Unit, said: "The purpose of the polygraph is to help us better manage the risk from certain sex offenders who are being supervised.
"Offenders are regularly asked questions about their behaviour in the community. Which offenders are chosen and the frequency of the tests depends on the circumstances of their offending and level of risk.
"They know their responses are going to be checked so it helps people to be more open about what's going on."
Each polygraph session has three phases and lasts about 90 minutes. It starts with a pre-test interview when the offender is told what questions they will be asked, which can prompt an admission in itself. The offender is then attached to the lie-detector, which monitors heart rate, sweating, brain activity and blood pressure while the questions are asked.
The operator interprets the responses, before the paedophile is asked to account for any failures.
The results cannot be used in court <http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/court>, but are aimed at cutting further offending and encouraging offenders to make admissions. If successful, the tests could become mandatory for all sex offenders across the country.
Marie Mitchell, pictured, chairman of Fegg Hayes http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/fegghayes Residents' Association, today welcomed the move. She said: "If sex offenders are going to be released into the community and they could be a risk to the public, then it's a good idea."
But Dr Helen Jones, criminologist at Manchester Metropolitan University, questioned how effective the tactic would be. She said: "It could be useful, but it depends what questions are asked and what resources the probation service and police http://www.thisisstaffordshire.co.uk/police have to investigate tests that show there could be some illegal activity going on.
"The results of polygraph tests are not 100 per cent guaranteed, otherwise we'd be using them to investigate a whole range of crimes."

Lie detector tests for known sex offenders
Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 06:30
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Sex offenders in Lincolnshire are undergoing lie detector tests to monitor their behaviour and check if they still pose a risk.
The county is taking part in a trial which sees subjects asked a series of questions while their heart rate, sweat, brain activity and blood pressure are monitored.
The 90-minute polygraph tests are designed to assess whether subjects are abiding by their licence conditions, which could require paedophiles to stay away from schools or ban them from using the Internet.
News of the scheme emerged as official figures showed there are 427 registered sex offenders in Lincolnshire.
The number of offenders - who have to notify the police of their address and any changes to their personal details - has risen from 401 last year.
The latest figures were released in the annual Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (Mappa) reports.
Mappa panels, which include police, councils and other government agencies, were set up to manage the risks to the public from dangerous criminals after they leave prison.
Lincolnshire is one of 10 areas in the Midlands taking part in the three-year polygraph trial, which began this spring. So far 130 sex offenders have been tested, six of them in the county.
A spokesman from the Ministry of Justice said: "The aim of the pilot is to establish whether polygraph testing can assist in the management of sex offenders in the community.
"Offenders will not be released earlier because of the polygraph condition. The polygraph will be used to monitor their activities after release."


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