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Overview of Polygraphy in the United Kingdom

NCJ Number
218415
Journal
Polygraph Volume: 36 Issue: 1 Dated: 2007 Pages: 3-17
Author(s)
Shay Addison
Date Published
2007
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article provides an overview of polygraphy in the United Kingdom using an interview format.
Abstract
A history of polygraphy in the United Kingdom is offered that reveals that interest in polygraphy did not arise in the United Kingdom until the early 1980s when it was first used within the private sector by Polygraph Security Services Ltd. Since 1999, the number of private companies offering polygraph examinations in the United Kingdom has steadily increased. Moreover, since 2000 there has been ongoing research on the utility of polygraph testing with community-based sex offenders as well as other academic research and testing with polygraphy. One notable research study is the post-conviction sex offender testing (PCSOT) pilot project which is being implemented in the national probation service to gather qualitative data on the utility of using polygraphy with this population. The article discusses how many polygraph examiners are currently working in the United Kingdom and the training requirements of private polygraph examiners versus university/prison/hospital examiners. Currently, there are no laws regulating the use of polygraphy or its examiners in the United Kingdom. The number of polygraph tests administered each year in the United Kingdom is recounted followed by a discussion of testing issues, such as the widespread use of polygraph countermeasures by those being examined. Testing techniques used in the United Kingdom, such as the comparison question technique, are described along with instrumentation and legal, political, and social issues related to the use of polygraphy in the United Kingdom. Since polygraphy is in its infancy in the United Kingdom, there have been no legal test cases involving polygraphy. In fact, there have only been two cases in which polygraph evidence was admitted as part of an assessment of sexual risk within child protection hearings. Finally, problems and issues facing the use of polygraphy in the United Kingdom are discussed. References