Lie detectors are being increasingly used in the criminal justice system, with potential implications for child custody and incarceration. A polygraph test examiner explains the process and its significance.
I'm officially a bad liar. With a blood pressure cuff pumped tight around my arm, straps around my chest monitoring my breathing, and sensors on my fingers to pick up any traces of sweat, veteran polygraph test examiner Don Cargill says he can easily spot the signs I've told him a fib. I've denied writing the number three on the piece of paper placed underneath my chair, in a simple exercise designed to show how my body reacts to lying.
Even with nothing to lose, it's an uncomfortable experience. But while commonly associated with daytime television programmes like The Jeremy Kyle Show, the use of lie detectors is expanding within the criminal justice system. And the answers people give could help determine whether or not they can see their children - or even land them back in jail. In an office above a branch of Carpetright in west London, Mr Cargill carries out private polygraph test
Lie Detectors Criminal Justice System Polygraph Test Child Custody Incarceration