"That would be the envy of a special agent!" How the niece of the gypsy baron tried to cheat the polygraph: what was told in the forensic panel
Are polygraphs and polygraphs the same thing? What is the accuracy of the polygraph, whether it can be cheated and whether the employer can force the test. Expert answers.
A polygraph is called a lie detector, but is it really true? Konstantin Dadkov, a polygraphologist, deputy director of the Forensic Expert Board, told in the project “Face to Face” on ONT.by what actually fixes the device, what is the reliability, whether it can be cheated and whether a person is obliged to undergo such a check at the request of the employer.
Lie detector or not
According to the guest of the program, the polygraph is a medical and biological device. It records psychophysiological indicators: blood pressure, respiratory parameters and electrodermal activity. There are four main groups of sensors, and up to 100 different parameters can be examined on a professional device.
About the name of the expert said: “Lie detector – this term was invented in America solely for advertising purposes, so that people were afraid of it.”.
What is the accuracy of a polygraph
The expert refers to a meta-study of the authoritative American Polygraph Association. It covered more than 10,000 examinations. We selected 200 methods and ranked them. The best of them, 5% of the methods, showed a reliability of 85 to 92%.
Hence the general conclusion of the guest: "The polygraph has a reliability of about 90%.".
The remaining percentages he called errors of method. Reliability of 90% is observed when all the methodological requirements for the room, device and actions of a specialist are met.
But the main limitation is another: “The polygraph does investigate stress levels, not deception. Deception is treated by a specialist.”.
Therefore, in the forensic examination, one fact is usually confirmed by several methods: at least three, and preferably about five. If different methods give the same result, the probability of error, according to the expert, is less than 1%.
Fear and anxiety: will they distort the result
According to the expert, excitement is not related to the involvement or non-involvement of the person, it depends on the psychotype and level of self-control. If a person has signs of excessive fear or anxiety, the polygraph examiner is obliged to bring him to a balanced state by methods of psychological conversation. To the fact that almost everyone is nervous, the guest is calm:
“Worrying about a polygraph is normal,” says the expert.
A person is in a chair less than half the time, 20 to 40% of the total screening time. The rest is occupied by acquaintance with questions, psychological testing and conversation. Questions before the beginning of the study are fully discussed.
Is it possible to cheat the polygraph: the story about the niece of a gypsy baron
The expert's answer is short: "A polygraph is a device that only records the indicators of human physiology, deceive a specialist.".
In 90% of cases, a person comes to prove his innocence, and the remaining 10% hope to cheat the polygraph.
The most difficult case in his career, he called the case when the niece of a gypsy baron was brought to him.
“The fortunate situation was that, in principle, the Roma are told by the law of their people to take their word for it. If you don't believe another gypsy, you're out. Or if the deception of this person is confirmed, then he is expelled, says Konstantin Dadkov.
The subject of the inspection, the specialist did not disclose.
“But it was a woman. She used various countermeasures. One of the methods is breathing. Usually, a person has a length of inhalation twice the length of exhalation. She spent almost 3 hours in the polygraph chair. She had an inhalation time of 10 to 15 percent continually more exhalation time. Such skill could envy a hardened special agent, the expert noted.
The employer can force the polygraph
According to the expert, there is no law on polygraph inspections in Belarus, and there is no requirement to undergo a polygraph in the Labor Code and there are no grounds to refuse work or dismiss for refusal. In some ministries, state committees and concerns of the power unit, internal instructions indicate that candidates undergo such a check, but the results, as the guest emphasizes, are indicative:
Passing a polygraph test is voluntary.
Watch the full issue of “Face to Face” with Konstantin Dadkov:
