#Polygraph
Using the Polygraph in the Interests of US Commercial Security.
Michael Allenson
Lafayette Inst.
I would like to briefly discuss how the polygraph has been used for commercial security purposes in the past, what has changed since the introduction of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA), and how the polygraph is currently used in the United States in the private sector.
Over 10 years ago, the polygraph was widely used for commercial security purposes.
It was used by many organizations, from giant corporations (such as McDonald's) to small stores.
The use of the polygraph has proven to be the most effective tool for selecting employees and verifying the veracity of their biographical data and other information.
It has also proven its effectiveness in detecting theft or other abuses among employees.
In addition, it was found that in organizations that used the polygraph on a regular basis, the level of staff loyalty increased significantly.
In essence, the polygraph was used as a means of economic efficiency. By providing an influx of reliable personnel for business, acting as a mechanism for compensating for losses incurred as a result of personnel disloyalty and preventing new losses, this method allowed for increasing business profitability.
The polygraph has proven itself to be an effective means of ensuring personnel security.
Accordingly, the demand for both the device itself and the services of specialist operators has increased significantly. The polygraph industry expanded and attracted an increasing number of operators.
Unfortunately, not all operators who claimed to be specialists actually had the necessary training and experience.
Many of them did not comply with the moral and ethical standards of polygraph operators.
These problems were compounded by the fact that the customers, representatives of private businesses, were poorly versed in the problem and could not determine the level of qualification of the operators offering their services.
As a result, the number of wrongly accused and dismissed employees increased.
In an attempt to remedy the situation, in June 1988 the government passed the «Employee Polygraph Protection Act.»
This law was intended to strictly regulate the use of polygraphs in private business.
The law states that «the purpose (of the EPPA) is to provide protection to employees of private firms from polygraph examinations during their employment or during the course of their employment.»
Private companies can only use polygraphs to test employees who have serious grounds for suspicion of wrongdoing against the company.
The law does not apply to government employees, employees of government contractors, and employees of private cash-in-transit companies and private security companies.
After the law was passed, more than 1,500 operators immediately lost their jobs.
Private companies that used the polygraph after the law was passed began to suffer losses because they were forced to look for more expensive and less effective methods of ensuring personnel safety.
On the other hand, the adoption of the law also had some positive effects.
For example, the ranks of polygraph operators were cleared of insufficiently qualified specialists.
The polygraph industry automatically adopted higher standards for using the method.
Internal control by industry specialists has become possible when the polygraph is expanded to new areas of application.
How is the polygraph currently used in the United States by private operators? Although many different examples can be cited, I will focus on two of them that demonstrate the current situation.
The first example is the Dunbar Collection Company.
«Dunbar” is the third largest cash collection company in the United States.
This corporation employs more than 40 polygraph operators in different parts of the country.
The polygraph examination method plays a central role in the selection of employees, the investigation of cases of official abuse, and preventive checks of personnel who have access to money and other valuables.
The polygraph has been used in the Dunbar company for more than 15 years.
The corporation's security staff confirms that, when used correctly, the polygraph is the most effective means of protecting a business from employee disloyalty.
Many private polygraph operators have recently begun working with psychologists in the judicial system. They conduct examinations of people who have committed sexual crimes and served their sentences.
Because of the situation with the Employee Polygraph Protection Act, the American Polygraph Association and state polygraph associations have set clear requirements for polygraph examiners to perform these examinations.
The requirements include certification from an American Polygraph Association-approved training center, completion of a specialized course in sex offender examinations, and annual attendance at continuing education seminars on the subject.
In the United States, the examination of people who have committed sexual offenses is the fastest growing area of polygraph use by private operators.
This method has proven to be the most effective way to monitor and treat such people.
The use of the polygraph in this area has reduced the recidivism rate from 70% to less than 10%. In addition, there is no longer a need to keep such criminals in prison.
The success of the polygraph in this area should be the basis for relaxing the legal requirements established by the Employee Polygraph Protection Act.
Experts have proven that polygraph examinations conducted by qualified operators give better results than any other method.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that private business in the United States needs to use the polygraph.
The use of the polygraph has proven to be the most effective means of preventing and reducing losses due to employee disloyalty.
Perhaps the best lesson that can be learned from the American experience of using the polygraph in the interests of commercial security is the need for cooperation between polygraph operators and business representatives to determine standards and ethical norms for the use of the polygraph. This will allow private businesses to receive high-quality services from highly qualified specialists.
Peace and Security. No. 3/1998