Lie detector tests | Polygraph tests | lie detector testing

An independent Berkshire parliamentary candidate has called for all politicians to take lie detector tests during the run-up to the election.

Mark Ashwell is standing against Tory MP John Redwood in his local constituency of Wokingham.

Mr Ashwell, who runs a windows and conservatory business, said he has used lie detectors to "demonstrate his company's honesty to customers".

Mr Ashwell said many politicians "have become fluent in the frivolous and often highly deceptive language of politic speak".

Mr Ashwell said: "After the expenses scandal and the latest cash for questions revelations, the electorate deserves 'proof of the truth' and to be reassured that politicians are being totally straight with them.

"If you've nothing to hide, there's no reason to be concerned about taking the tests. But the system and the operative must be of a professional and credible standard."

However, Labour candidate George Davidson said: "I think someone's got too much time on their hands.

"British politics should not be turned into a version of the Jeremy Kyle show. Politics is about being straight and decent over five years, not for a five minute test. The electorate get the chance to vote out those who lie or cheat once caught, so the test is an irrelevance."

Lib Dem candidate Prue Bray said: "The problem with lie detector tests is that you can fool them - and there are plenty of people who will show you how to do it.

"Plus, they are not guaranteed accurate even if you are not setting out to fool them. I think having a good track record is the best way for politicians to show voters whether they are honest and trustworthy, whether they work hard, and what they stand for."

Candidate Marjory Bisset, from Reading Green Party, said: "It sounds like an unworkable gimmick to me. You would have to get the lie detector gear out every time a politician made a statement.

SEX beast John Cronin should be tagged and tracked by satellite, MSPs said last night.

Cronin, described as the most dangerous sexual predator in the UK, should also be forced to undergo lie detector tests to stop him carrying out more vile crimes.

The Record exclusively told yesterday how the 39-year-old Scot was released from Birmingham prison on Tuesday and was allowed to wander the streets without supervision.

Creepy Cronin, from Tranent in East Lothian, was only out of jail 40 minutes in West Bromwich town centre when he spent 10 minutes in a phone booth ogling women.

Now furious MSPs are demanding tougher handling of serial offenders like Cronin.

Last night, Tory community safety spokesman John Lamont said: "It is exactly this type of dangerous sex offender who must be targeted and subjected to greater monitoring."

He said Cronin should be fitted with GPS tracking monitors so police can keep watch on him at all times.

Lie-detector tests and the naming and shaming of absconded sex offenders should also be compulsory, he added.

Cronin is not being supervised by police and is free to settle wherever he wants.

PHOENIX — An Arizona couple who police named persons of interest in the case of a missing baby took polygraph tests on Friday, MyFoxPhoenix.com reported.

Jack and Terri Smith spent hours at the Tempe, Ariz., police station answering questions as part of the police investigation into the disappearance of 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson.

Police said Thursday they believe the Smiths, who had wanted to adopt Garbriel, may know more about the missing child's whereabouts than they're telling investigators.

The baby was last seen in San Antonio in late December with his 23-year-old mother, Elizabeth Johnson.

Johnson was arrested last week in Florida on suspicion of custodial interference after she didn't show up for a custody hearing in Arizona. Her car was later found by the FBI in San Antonio.

She has since told a Phoenix television station that she gave the boy away in San Antonio. She made the statement after she sent a text message to her ex-boyfriend telling him she had killed the baby.

"We are getting some indications that Gabriel is alive," Carbajal said Thursday. "We can't say specifically just what those are, but we are getting some indications that those are correct."

The Smiths have given numerous media interviews in recent days where they said they met Johnson at an airport during a long layover and befriended her. Terri Smith said the young mother wanted to give up her baby for adoption but the ex-boyfriend wouldn't go along.

Terri Smith told KTVK-TV in Phoenix on Thursday that the couple has cooperated fully with police and have nothing to hide.

The baby's father, Logan McQueary, has said Johnson tried several times to get him to sign away his parental rights but that he refused.

Tempe police have been inundated with tips and are now directing callers to the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children.

Carbajal urged anyone who has the baby to bring him to a safe place like a fire station or a hospital if they are afraid to come forward.

Kenny MacAskill said he would consider the findings of a pilot project being conducted in England before deciding whether to implement the plan north of the Border.

But he was more sceptical about the benefits of tracking offenders using satellites, arguing the technology only monitors where they are, not what they are doing.

In a statement to MSPs, Mr MacAskill also confirmed parents across Scotland could be given the right to know if a sex offender has access to their children.

He outlined the proposals following the conviction of James Rennie, 38, and Neil Strachan, 41, who were jailed for life last week after filming themselves abusing the children of innocent friends.

Nearly 125,000 indecent images were eventually seized during Operation Algebra, which uncovered the country’s largest paedophile ring, led by Strachan and Rennie.

But Strachan was a registered sex offender, prompting questions about how he had been allowed to get carry out his attacks.

Pressed by the Tories on whether monitoring procedures could be tightened up, Mr MacAskill said the use of polygraph testing on sex offenders was being trialled in England.

Confirming that he was following its progress, he said: "If it is shown to be working then we will be more than happy to learn from any jurisdiction, therefore we are watching with interest what they do there."

On the issue of satellite monitoring, the justice minister said: "Technology has to be looked at, and where it is appropriate we will being it in, but it has limitations."

For example, Mr MacAskill argued it was not possible to tell if an offender was with a child, or just walking his dog.

The justice minister admitted: "We have to recognise that sometimes perhaps we’ll not be able to stop everybody from doing an evil deed."

The Conservatives support the introduction of lie detector tests and satellite tracking. Bill Aitken, the Scottish Tory justice spokesman, argued: "Sadly these measures we are proposing will never totally eradicate sex offending but they would make our children immeasurably safer."

Mr MacAskill has now read a review compiled by police, NHS and council chiefs into the handling of Strachan’s case.

It does not include recommendations for the Scottish Executive to implement, but he added: "We will work with the responsible authorities to help disseminate any operational lessons that need to be learned."

The new Criminal Justice and Licensing Bill, currently going through parliament, will tighten restrictions on sex offenders.

This could see them forced to provide more information about their living arrangements, such as whether they are under the same roof as a child, and contact details like an email address.

If it proves a success, Mr MacAskill also promised to roll out across Scotland a pilot scheme in Tayside, under which parents can request background checks on anyone in close contact with their children.

Balloon boy: parents of Falcon Heene took lie detector test
Richard and Mayumi Heene, the parents of “balloon boy” Falcon Heene, have taken a lie-detector test in which they were asked by US police whether they had staged an elaborate hoax.

Mr and Mrs Heene took the polygraph separately over the weekend but investigators have refused to reveal the results.

David Lane, the couple’s lawyer, said he had not been told if they passed or failed but noted that the results would not be admissible in court.

He said: “If that’s what they’re relying on, they’re in trouble. I have no idea what so-called evidence they have.”

The Heenes are suspected of falsely reporting that six-year-old Falcon had drifted away in a large home-built helium balloon in order to drum up publicity for a proposed reality TV show about their family.

Authorities investigating the family said they do not expect to bring any possible charges until at least next week.

They are examining e-mails, phone records and financial documents taken from the Heene home in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Larimer County sheriff’s spokeswoman Eloise Campanella said reports would be presented to the district attorney’s office next week. It will then be up to prosecutors to decide whether to file charges.

Mr Lane said the Heenes are willing to turn themselves in to avoid the spectacle of a public arrest.

Bradford Heene (left), parents Richard Heene and Mayumi Heene, Falcon Heene (centre) and Ryo Heene

NOTTINGHAM: 'Predatory paedophile' challenged to Jeremy Kyle lie detector test
5:04pm Wednesday 7th October 2009

AN ALLEGED victim of a “predatory paedophile” challenged him to a lie detector test on the Jeremy Kyle Show, a court has heard.

Jason Hoyte, aged 37, is alleged to have spent two decades sexually abusing nine underage girls, many he met after infiltrating south London's church community.

Hoyte, a director of an events company and a talented singer and musician, began targeting victims as young as four in the eighties, jurors were told.

The married man relied on victims' trust and his air of success to groom older schoolgirls for sex, Inner London Crown Court heard.

The court also heard his “inappropriate behaviour” led to him being banned from victims' homes and churches.

Jurors heard police found texts on his mobile sent by one of the alleged victims, challenging him to appear on the ITV chat show hosted by Jeremy Kyle.

The alleged victim, who was six or seven when she claims to have been molested, contacted him as rumours circulated within the church community.

Prosecutor Nicholas Atkinson said: “It started as inappropriate behaviour towards very young girls. He did so 20 years ago and has continued to do so into his 30s.

“The children didn't complain, possibly because they knew no better. If they mentioned it to their parents they didn't tell them the full extent of the abuse.

“Adults may have been hesitant to do anything about it. Possibly they didn't want to believe the complaints or attract attention to it."

He added: “Finally, in recent years, it was no longer just touching, but full sexual intercourse with girls.”

Child rapist loses lie test fight

A CHILD rapist living in Worcester has lost his case claiming lie detection tests invaded his privacy.

Raymond Corbett, aged 60, who is living at an “approved address” in the city, was released in April from a nine-year sentence for a catalogue of horrific sex crimes against two young girls, but was told he would have to submit to polygraph testing.

Corbett, formerly of Lansdowne Road, was convicted of two rape and two indecent assault charges at Worcester Crown Court in May 2003.

In a High Court test case he argued that subjecting him to polygraph testing invaded his privacy and smacks of “delving into a man’s mind”.

But top judges said the use of lie detection techniques on released sex offenders was not a violation of human rights. Lord Justice Pill ruled yesterday that compulsory testing is a “justified and proportionate” means of protecting the public and discouraging sex criminals from returning to their ways.

The ruling means the Ministry of Justice can press ahead with a three-year pilot scheme in nine police areas, including West Mercia, where freed high risk sex offenders will have to take the tests as part of their early release licence conditions. Sentencing Corbett, formerly of Malvern, in 2003 Judge Michael Mott said: “Many right-thinking people might consider that no sentence was long enough for somebody who did what you did... it almost beggars belief”.

Corbett’s barrister, John Traversi, argued at the High Court that forcing him to undergo polygraph testing amounted to a violation of his right to private and family life, protected by Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Stating Corbett’s crimes were committed more than 25 years ago – and he had done nothing wrong since – Mr Traversi attacked polygraph testing as “a not entirely reliable exercise in delving into a man’s mind”.

However, dismissing Corbett’s challenge, Lord Justice Pill said polygraph testing was just one of 13 conditions attached to his early release licence and failure to pass the test would not, by itself, be enough to justify recalling him to prison.

Ruling that mandatory lie detection is “in accordance with the law and in the public interest,” he said it is seen by the Department of Justice as a useful deterrent and “risk management tool”.

Although polygraph testing is “not entirely reliable” – and test results cannot be used as evidence in a criminal trial – he said it will be used to detect “risky behaviour” by sex offenders at an early stage, before the public can be harmed.

Rejecting arguments that polygraph testing is “disproportionate” for Corbett, the judge said probation reports indicated that he had shown a “lack of engagement” with prison sex offender treatment programmes.

Although he accepted responsibility for his crimes when in prison, the judge said it has been reported he has been denying them again since his release and now claims that he only made his earlier admissions in the hope of winning parole.

Annie Le suspect a 'lovesick' co-worker: reports
By staff writers | September 16, 2009
Article from: NEWS.com.au
A LABORATORY technician looms as the main suspect in the slaying of Yale University graduate Annie Le.
Le’s body was found inside a wall in a laboratory at one of the university’s campus buildings on Sunday after a five-day search by investigators.

UK tabloid The Daily Telegraph reports a technician who worked at the same laboratory as Le is a suspect after failing a lie detector test and exhibiting wounds on his chest, which police say may be signs of a struggle.
Le was caught on film by several of the campus’s 75 CCTV camera entering the laboratory last Tuesday, but not walking out.

Police wouldn’t confirm any details of who they officially suspected of her murder, but said that as the building was only accessible by security card, it was likely to have been committed by a worker.
They said the murder “was not random”.
The New Haven Independent, citing a law enforcement source, said that the suspect had an "unrequited love interest" in the 24-year-old bride-to-be.

TV man brings lie detector to Sheringham school
15 September 2009 North Norfolk News

He spends most of his time on television reality shows or in private homes trying to discover if people have been unfaithful to their partners or have been guilty of stealing.

A regular on the Jeremy Kyle show with his lie detecting equipment, yesterday Guy Heseltine was on hand at Sheringham High School and Sixth Form Centre to give a talk and practical demonstration of his skills to around 60 students.

Mr Heseltine has also worked with Trisha and Jerry Springer, as well as working on private contracts across the UK and in Europe. His work typically sees him interviewing job candidates on behalf of businesses and resolving family disputes.

Questions yesterday did not revolve around dogs eating homework or late arrivals to the classroom, but Mr Heseltine did try his techniques out on student Jay Bernard.

Jay was handed a set of numbers hand written on an A4 sheet in green pen, from one to six but with the four missing. He was then asked to write the four in red himself in the gap provided.

Mr Heseltine then asked six separate questions, each about one of the numbers and whether Jay had written it down himself - having already been prompted to say 'no' to every question.

When it came to the number four, Jay was therefore lying - and the measures of heart rate, breathing and particularly sweat levels were shown to alter because of the lie.

Although a simplistic example, it helped Mr Heseltine demonstrate how the polygraph machine worked.

“It has been fascinating coming into a school to talk about the skills I use, it's not something I have ever done before,” said Mr Heseltine.

“Obviously I pitched what I discussed a bit differently, but I could still get across one of the main messages, which is to dispel some of the myths about what a polygraph can and cannot do.”

Mr Heseltine also discussed what the Jeremy Kyle show was like to work on: “It's incredibly professional, I have done about 300 tests with them and they always let me get on with it the way it should be done rather than try to change it.”

The school's assistant headteacher Adam Gibson said the session had been open to sixth form computer science and psychology students.

“He is widely acknowledged as the leading polygraph tester in the UK, so it's great for the students to get to see how he works,” said Mr Gibson.

“It has given them a very good insight into a subject which most of us know very little about.

“It's unusual to get Guy in to an environment like the school, but we hope it will become an annual event.”

Lie detector tests, Polygraph testing throughout the UK and Europe.

NOTTINGHAM: 'Predatory paedophile' challenged to Jeremy Kyle lie detector test5:04pm Wednesday 7th October 2009

Child rapist loses lie test fight

NOTTINGHAM: 'Predatory paedophile' challenged to Jeremy Kyle lie detector test
5:04pm Wednesday 7th October 2009