The polygraph

[Khaki_Pants]

I didn't see a thread on this, so I started one. I wanted to share my experiance, and wonder if it is done similiarly in all cases. I had to take an LTD back in 93-94. Let me tell you, I was all nervous and felt guilty before it even started, even though under the circumstances it was a small thing! lol The whole time my breathing and herat rate were up. When it was over, I asked the admin, "So, how'd I do?". He said, "I'm sure you did just fine." I did not get the actual results until a week later. He made no attempt to read them while I was there, and don't think he was looking at the thing while I was answering ?'s. I'm sure it would be different in a kidnapping case than in mine, but just wanted to through it out there for thought.

Thanks.
~Khaki

 

[ksgirl78]

I have never had to take a LDT so I cannot say for certain, but I would think that it would get sent off for the results.

I would, however, assume that the results would be back in by now! I find it very telling that LE will not comment on the results of the LDT's...they did not say that the results were not back in yet...HMMM

 

[Khaki_Pants]

I have never had to take a LDT so I cannot say for certain, but I would think that it would get sent off for the results.

I would, however, assume that the results would be back in by now! I find it very telling that LE will not comment on the results of the LDT's...they did not say that the results were not back in yet...HMMM

I agree. I was just skeptical that they all claimed that they were told they "passed." and thought maybe it was something more like my admin said to me.

 

[catch_22]

I didn't see a thread on this, so I started one. I wanted to share my experiance, and wonder if it is done similiarly in all cases. I had to take an LTD back in 93-94. Let me tell you, I was all nervous and felt guilty before it even started, even though under the circumstances it was a small thing! lol The whole time my breathing and herat rate were up. When it was over, I asked the admin, "So, how'd I do?". He said, "I'm sure you did just fine." I did not get the actual results until a week later. He made no attempt to read them while I was there, and don't think he was looking at the thing while I was answering ?'s. I'm sure it would be different in a kidnapping case than in mine, but just wanted to through it out there for thought.

Thanks.
~Khaki

so were your results accurate?

i think if i took a LDT, i would worry about it being wrong and saying i was lying when i was not. i wonder if this worry/paranoia could cause you to fail a LDT even if you were telling the truth?

 

[Carla Lashelle]

I took a polygraph test about a year ago. I was accused of mailing steroids to a police sting address, and they went after me because my name was on the package's return lable. Never mind the name and address were misspelled, and the lable was not in the format used by USPS Click N Ship, although the lable purported to be a C N S lable.

A polygraph expert/agent was brought in, I think from Miami (I am in Florida) to administer the test.

I knew I was 100% not involved in this, and had NO CLUE what was going on. I agreed to the test. It was conducted at the police station. The prep and test took about 3 hours total. The agent was very skilled and had been doing polygraph tests for a long time. unlike TV where they use machines with ink and paper and jiggly needle pens, this test was all electronic and done on/with a laptop.

The agent asked me about the drugs and what I was being accused of (I was not charged with anything). He talked to me about my life, values, etc. Then he talked to me about the test and how it worked. i would be asked a series of yes/no answer questions that would cover the topics from different angles. There are also control questions to get a known response. Then, the test is given multiple times so they can compare not only how you answered the questions within the one test, but between multiple tests with the same questions.

You have sensors all over you, including one you sit on. It is just you and the polygrapher in a room, and you are facing a plain wall. Before the test starts, he askes ok write a number 8 on a piece of paper. thats part of the control. During the test he will say, "ok Lala did you write an 8 on a page for me".... Yes or No... Or he can ask, "is there a 5 on this paper?". The rest of the questions are like "did you mail the box of drugs...?", "do you know anyone that would do this?", "are you protecting the person that mailed the box?" etc. I think there are 12 or 13 questions. Then the test is repeated several times...

Results take only a few minutes to see and interpret. The polygrapher is trained to read them and you don't have to send anything off like a DNA sample etc. in my case he conducted two tests. he said usually they do at least 4 runs to compare results, but i had strong positive, truthful answers, so he didn't bother with the rest. I was told I passed and even looked at the various graphs on the computer although they were meaningless to me.

I was scared going into the test. i knew i was not involved, but having agents come and accuse me of things, come into my home, etc. was scary. The polygrapher put me at ease, and the test was actually interesting. The part that made me angriest was when it was over they are like, "I don't think you have anything to worry about... bye". No apology, thanks for assisting, etc.


also, the agent is responsible for the machines, test, results, etc. not local LE. He brings the machine with him

 

[Khaki_Pants]

so were your results accurate?

i think if i took a LDT, i would worry about it being wrong and saying i was lying when i was not. i wonder if this worry/paranoia could cause you to fail a LDT even if you were telling the truth?

I asked him about that, The worry and paranoia, and he said it would not affect it at all. And yes my results were accurate and I passed.

 

[Nedthan Johns]

There used to be a reality show on TV that used polygraph tests as part of the program. Answers are interpreted immediately.

 

[ksgirl78]

Wow, Carla LaShelle...interesting story! Thanks for that input on LDT's. I wonder if they do this same type of polygraphing everywhere?

When RC and MC were first asked about their polygraph's on NG, I believe, they stated they had passed but MC acted as if she didn't really know whether she did or not, so I just assumed they were saying that they had passed because they were allowed to leave the police department after taking the tests rather than...oh I don't know...being arrested! When in actuality they would not have known whether they had indeed passed them or not.

 

[ksgirl78]

There used to be a reality show on TV that used polygraph tests as part of the program. Answers are interpreted immediately.

I think I remember the show you are talking about, only on for 2 seasons I believe. I thought that they were asked those questions before the show(meaning it wasn't telling them at the moment they answered the question but had been verified beforehand) and then had a chance to redeem themselves if they had lied and change there answer during the show!

 

[Khaki_Pants]

Carla, excellant post. It must be different with something more serious. Mine was in regards to a fishing tournament that entered and won. I won a large amount of money and they had to make sure I obeyed all the rules in order to claim the prize. LOL They had about 20 ppl to test as well. So it was in no means a serious situation.

 

[jaimie43]

Ill also add that you can lie and still pass. Im proof. Years ago I had to take one before employment at a conveinence store. The test itself was exactly as Carla described. One of the questions asked was "have you ever stolen anything, no matter how small, from a previous employer"? I said no, but the whole time I was remembering the time me and another girl ran into our bosses office and made off with a handful of hersheys kisses! I said No because I knew I would not be allowed to explain...I mean you get a choice of answers..yes or no-thats it. You dont get to say "Yes but Id like to explain!" Ok just thought Id put that out there-I think about that every time theres a case involving polygraphs and for everyone wondering..yes I did get the job! lol...Hope no one thinks less of me now...:blushing:

 

[3dogmom]

BF has been present during many LDT's because of his profession. He tells me the stress of actually taking the test can make a guilty person crack before they even start the test.

 

[not_my_kids]

I have never been poly'ed, but my sister and my stepdad both were.

My dad, his was for suspected embezzlement. He was not charged, just a suspect and was later cleared. But he said that they took initial heart rate and BP readings when he got there and then he just talked to the interviewer for a little while. THen they rechecked his BP and heart rate and all that and made him remove his shoes, roll up his sleeves, so on. THey hooked him up, to a BP cuff and a heart monitor thingie and then started asking him questions. He said he didn't feel nervous at all, because he wasn't guilty. They went through questions about his age, race, gender, parents, address, things with known answers, then they moved onto questions requiring a yes/no answer only, and then the actual questioning.
My dad failed, but not because the test showed deception. He failed because the test showed no difference in questions where he was being truthful and control questions where he was told to lie. The only thing the interviewer told him was "Looks good, we're done here." He got his results about 3 weeks later.

My sister was a nervous wreck when she took hers and she didn't tell me much about it, except that she got done with the test and broke down. She told the examiner that she was afraid she was going to be arrested because of how nervous she was.
The examiner said that if she was as nervous all the way through as she was when they started, she should be okay. He said nothing about her results.
Hers were inconclusive, because the test showed that she was lying on almost every question, including known answers, such as her age, DOB, address, children's names.
But might I add, she also has a heart condition and a thyroid issue, which they did tell her later might have added to the difficulty in reading the results. She never actually got her results sent to her, the police brought them to her about a week later when they came to ask her some more questions.

ETA: My dad's was done a long time ago, like the early to mid 80's, so it was much less sophisticated.
My sister's was more recent, about three years ago and she said that they used a computer to read the results and the person administering it told her that he would be doing the evaluation, but due to the seriousness of the accusations, the results would be interpreted to police before they were given to her.

 

[ksgirl78]

Ill also add that you can lie and still pass. Im proof. Years ago I had to take one before employment at a conveinence store. The test itself was exactly as Carla described. One of the questions asked was "have you ever stolen anything, no matter how small, from a previous employer"? I said no, but the whole time I was remembering the time me and another girl ran into our bosses office and made off with a handful of hersheys kisses! I said No because I knew I would not be allowed to explain...I mean you get a choice of answers..yes or no-thats it. You dont get to say "Yes but Id like to explain!" Ok just thought Id put that out there-I think about that every time theres a case involving polygraphs and for everyone wondering..yes I did get the job! lol...Hope no one thinks less of me now...:blushing:

OMGoodness! This made me literally LOL...

As for thinking less of you...nah, I'm pretty sure almost every single one of us here have "stolen" a piece of candy!!!

 

[jaimie43]

All the inconsistencys must be why polys are not admissable. I dont see them as reliable at all.

 

[jaimie43]

OMGoodness! This made me literally LOL...

As for thinking less of you...nah, I'm pretty sure almost every single one of us here have "stolen" a piece of candy!!!

Thanks Ksgirl! I really didnt want to tell this story but I thought it might help some realize how unreliable a poly can be and not to have too much faith in them..

 

[ksgirl78]

Thanks Ksgirl! I really didnt want to tell this story but I thought it might help some realize how unreliable a poly can be and not to have too much faith in them..

You are more than welcome Jaimie!!!

I probably would have been apprehensive of sharing the story too but I am glad you did...because it does indeed show that LDT's are not always accurate and that we shouldn't take results from a LDT as truth!!!

 

[PGWodehouse]

BF has been present during many LDT's because of his profession. He tells me the stress of actually taking the test can make a guilty person crack before they even start the test.

This is often true. Personally, I'm very skeptical of polygraphs; I suspect much of the "evidence" is actually confirmation bias. If someone is guilty and they flunk, or innocent and pass, the tests are deemed to work. But if the guilty person passes they "beat it" and if the innocent person fails, they were nervous.

But in a strange way they still work, so long as people believe in them, even if they don't actually measure lies. If people believe they're going to be found out, they'll often just go ahead confess and get it over with.

 

[Carla Lashelle]

they are actually fairly accurate. no test of any kind is 100% positive. and no they dont measure lies they measure Galvanic Skin Response, heart rate changes, breathing changes, etc.

 

[jaimie43]

they are actually fairly accurate. no test of any kind is 100% positive. and no they dont measure lies they measure Galvanic Skin Response, heart rate changes, breathing changes, etc.

I wasnt implying that they measure lies-just that I did indeed lie, I knew I was lying when I said "no" and yet I still passed. Maybe Im just a good liar