The use of polygraph surveys in modern conditions in the presence of new threats to state and public security and business development.
Currently, the fight against terrorism is a priority in research and development in all leading countries of the world.
One of the most effective means in this fight is the use of biometric identification technologies.
The implementation of international and a number of national biometric passport projects based on biometric identification of an individual using fingerprints has begun and continues.
In October 2004, Russian President V.V. Putin formed an interdepartmental working group whose efforts are aimed at creating a biometric system of foreign passports in accordance with the decision of the G8 countries.
Since 2004, the US government has been spending more than $5 billion a year to deploy the US-VISIT personal identification system in the US.
At the beginning of 2005, the Russian government approved an expensive concept for creating a state system for the production, processing, and control of new-generation passport and visa documents.
However, a single personal identification system, despite the enormous costs, cannot provide reliable protection against the terrorist threat.
A solution that can provide real protection for states and citizens against the terrorist threat is the creation of a comprehensive automatic system for identifying a person's status, complementing the personal identification system.
The personal identification system is ineffective against individuals who do not have a criminal record and individuals whose information is not included in biometric databases. At the same time, such individuals, especially young people, are often used by extremist organizations to commit suicide terrorist acts.
To identify such individuals, it is necessary to establish not the identity, but the intent to commit a crime.
Modern science claims that identification of a person's psychological state is possible and actually feasible. The most well-known and researched area of identification of a person's state is instrumental lie detection. Classical instrumental lie detection is based on identifying the psycho-emotional state and criminal intent by recording the dynamics of changes in a person's physiological indicators (breathing, changes in skin resistance, cardiovascular activity) using sensors attached directly to the human body.
Unfortunately, this method of revealing hidden information cannot be used when conducting mass identification of citizens, for example, during passport control at airports.
The only acceptable way to assess the psycho-emotional state of a person and his intentions in cases where it is necessary to conduct mass testing of citizens, without affecting their legal rights and freedoms, is contactless diagnostics.
The main objective within the framework of this topic is to develop technology and create a system for remote and contactless detection of aggressively minded and potentially dangerous people, focused on committing criminal acts and terrorist acts.
State of the art
The task of analyzing the human condition is as ancient as humanity has existed, and during each historical period it is solved using the most modern technical means available at the given time. Currently, there are several known areas in science and technology devoted to the analysis of the psychophysiological state of a person. Over the past few years, dozens of Russian and international patents have been received on this topic and a large number of developments and studies have been carried out.
Traditional lie detection
The most well-known system for analyzing the psychophysiological state of a person is a polygraph, which continuously and simultaneously monitors the following physiological parameters of a person: heart rate; breathing dynamics; changes in skin resistance (the so-called galvanic skin response); dynamics of changes in blood pressure, motor activity of the human body and/or facial activity of the human facial muscles. The traditional «lie detector» (polygraph) is successfully used to determine the level of stress and detect lies, but this technology is contact and has a number of limitations such as significant time costs for testing one person. (The standard time for testing a person on a polygraph is from 2 to 5 hours). This restriction significantly narrows the scope of application of this method.
In order to comply with the law, prevent criminals from penetrating closed and specially protected facilities, and squander and steal products from a number of large Russian companies, we train polygraph specialists and equip special premises for conducting surveys using video surveillance and control systems.
More modern and mathematically precise algorithms for processing parameters obtained during polygraph testing are being developed in order to increase the reliability of processing the results obtained.
Here are representatives of various organizations developing, producing and selling polygraphs of various types, each has its own software and each, including me, will say that it is exclusive, unique and the most reliable, on the one hand it is good that there are different polygraphs in Russia, but on the other hand there is some disunity in terms of reliability criteria, both devices and methods of working with them.
USE OF VOICE ANALYZERS
One of the contactless methods of identifying aggressively minded and potentially dangerous people, focused on committing criminal acts and terrorist acts, is the analysis of various characteristics and parameters of a person's voice and the identification of their psycho-emotional state and intentions through this analysis.
Various voice stress analyzers have long existed and have been successfully used in the world, in particular in Israel, in the special services of this state.
Our company was one of the first in the Russian Federation to study and implement voice stress analysis technology in the Russian Federation.
After studying samples of computerized systems based on voice stress analysis technology, two nomenclatures were recognized as special equipment and closed for widespread use.
However, life has not stopped and the training of specialists who can competently and creatively use voice analyzers continues not only for our special services, but also for the special services of the CIS countries.
Feedback on the specialists we have trained who use voice stress analyzers in operational investigative activities is only positive.
As an example of the use of voice stress analyzers by non-governmental organizations, I can present you the following: «Areopag-Center» conducted a «pilot» project at Domodedovo Airport to use this technology when screening passengers arriving from our southern republics of the former USSR in order to identify drug trafficking channels. The work was carried out jointly with the OBKN (anti-drug smuggling department) of the Domodedovo customs. In order to check the reliability of the products based on voice stress analysis technology and confirm the reliability of the conclusions of the specialists working with them, each of the respondents was subjected to a personal search, not to mention checking baggage, in some cases an X-ray of the person was carried out. More than 940 passengers were interviewed. There were no discrepancies between the readings of the system based on voice stress analysis and the search.
During the project, several people were identified using a voice stress analyzer by voice, who were carrying illegal types of medication, a relative of a drug dealer who was doing reconnaissance. The rumor that some kind of equipment was at the airport spread very quickly, and the fact that there was not a single drug courier during the checks — speaks of the deterrent factor in the use of such equipment. After completing work with the system based on voice stress analysis, a week later, customs officers detained a drug courier who was carrying 1.5 kg of heroin.
This project was aimed at identifying individuals involved in illegal drug trafficking, but the equipment can also be used when purchasing tickets, passing entry and exit controls both at ports of entry and at any restricted and specially protected facilities.
In order to ensure the safety of expensive products and eliminate the possibility of their removal, merging security structures with dealers in the business of precious metals and materials, we carry out similar work with various large mining enterprises in Russia.
APPLICATION OF SYSTEMS BASED ON VOICE STRESS ANALYSIS in services for receiving information from citizens in duty services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the like, in the banking sector in order to prevent offenses, to avoid possible damage.
Recently, judging by the information from the Internet, many private polygraph examiners have appeared, as well as firms offering services in the field of instrumental lie detection. Moreover, they solve all problems: from family — fidelity, infidelity, to personnel and any kind of investigations.
This is very reminiscent of newspaper ads from the series: I will return my loved one, remove damage and the evil eye. By conducting dubious checks, they not only distort people's destinies, but also damage the method itself, discredit it.
Those companies with which we cooperate or simply contact on a friendly basis, do their work calmly, confidently, without such heart-rending calls to solve any problems. In such companies, the training of polygraph specialists is carried out thoroughly and, I think, they do not produce «specialists» who know how to press keys and give results. But these declarants appear from somewhere.
Specialists are prepared to recognize counteraction, but do not teach it. Nevertheless, there are plenty of people who can fool a lie detector, as they write. All this discredits the method.
There is a lot of open material on instrumental lie detection, on the preparation of questionnaires, on the types of questions that are used, on the types of reactions of various channels that arise in the respondent during the survey, but knowing the methodology for conducting the OIP, the methodology for preparing tests, the types of reactions, a more or less intelligent person can build a line of his own behavior during the survey without using crude forms of counteraction indicated on the Internet.
When training specialists, we carefully study each one so that the trained person is not from those structures that, to one degree or another, can harm the security of both an individual organization and society as a whole.
Pavlov A.E.
General Director of «Areopag-Center»
Moscow