Blunkett to use lie detectors

[Tom Morris]

I've just emailed Randi about this, and I'm sure you all will want to know about it too. Our Home Secretary (in Britain, the Home Secretary deals with much of criminal justice, immigration, the police, court system etc.), David Blunkett, is hoping to introduce polygraph testing for managing sex offenders. More at this BBC News article...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3756015.stm

Woah. Our government ignoring all the facts and studies that have shown polygraphs to be unreliable pieces of junk in order to score a few political points. Why am I surprised?

I've emailed my MP. Other Brits who are concerned ought to as well.

[mgdwcb]

I am concerned, yes. The idea that it is possible to detect lies was recently supported in a popular `dating show' on UK TV when parents asked embarrasing questions to their daughter's potential boyfriends. OK, just entertainment, but it did support the public's perception that all one needs is a few wires and the secrets of the human mind will fall to pieces.

[Lothian]

I thought a lot about this morning. I decided that the best way to do this would be to rig Mr Blunket, Blair & co up to these machines when they speak in parliament. As they should not lie to the house there should be no objections.

This has two benefits . They will through practice realise that the machines are not 100% accurate and can be fooled. Secondly imagine their faces when they make a statement and the bell rings and the big LIE light flashes

[Camillus]

Originally posted by Lothian
I thought a lot about this morning. I decided that the best way to do this would be to rig Mr Blunket, Blair & co up to these machines when they speak in parliament. As they should not lie to the house there should be no objections.

Nice idea but it wouldn't work I'm afraid. I've never seen a politician who could answer just "Yes" or "No" to any question.

[Doc Dish]

Mr Blunkett joked: "You never know, they might introduce it for politicians and then we would all have to watch our 'p's and 'q's."

I'm glad our Home Secretary feels able to make light of such a serious subject.

I've emailed my MP; like Tom Morris I urge you to do the same (after all, there's elections coming up so they should be willing to 'smooch your posterior')

[The Don]

....and lie detectors don't work on the deluded. They really DO think what they've done for the past 7 years is ALL for the best of the country.

Of course it cuold be the old double bluff. If people think they are going to be caught if they lie, they may be more inclined to tell the truth.

[Lothian]

Originally posted by Camillus


Nice idea but it wouldn't work I'm afraid. I've never seen a politician who could answer just "Yes" or "No" to any question. Ah I remember the good old days. http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/video/newsnight/howard.ram

[richardm]

Can anyone recommend a good website that details the problems with lie detectors? I'd like to include a link to it in my email to my MP.

[Tom Morris]

I've included a few links on my blog entry on the subject: http://www.bbcity.co.uk/entry/2196

And search. Believe me, it's not difficult to find the stuff.

[Doc Dish]

Originally posted by richardm: Can anyone recommend a good website that details the problems with lie detectors? I'd like to include a link to it in my email to my MP.

The Skeptics Dictionary (http://www.skepdic.com/polygrap.html) article has lots of links on the subject

[richardm]

Thanks!

[Rob Lister]

While the polygraph as we know it today is nothing more than an interogation tool, and not a 'lie detector' at all, there are some interesting developments coming down the pike.

One I've heard about is a type of 'bio-feedback' device that can, with some great degree of certainty, determine if the test subject has been exposed to a specific visual scene. I'm hunting for a link but can't seem to get the right keywords. IMS, double-blind testing puts it's accuracy at (close to?) 100%.

[Kess]

I just watched in disbelief as a reporter on this evening's ITN News stated categorically that lie detectors are "90% accurate". She was with a lie detector "expert", however, so I suspect she was just merrily repeating whatever he'd told her.

Sloppy journalism, I guess.

[patnray]

Reading these I was struck by an idea to finally and publically debunk "lie detectors": a quiz show where contestants win big $ for fooling the machines and their operators. Call it a "reality" show... The contestants who are falsely accused of lying get eliminated and humiliated (just like in reality) while the successful liars get rewarded...

[materia3]

Originally posted by Rob Lister
While the polygraph as we know it today is nothing more than an interogation tool, and not a 'lie detector' at all, there are some interesting developments coming down the pike.

One I've heard about is a type of 'bio-feedback' device that can, with some great degree of certainty, determine if the test subject has been exposed to a specific visual scene. I'm hunting for a link but can't seem to get the right keywords. IMS, double-blind testing puts it's accuracy at (close to?) 100%.

I think this is the link:

http://www.brainwavescience.com/

[Tom Morris]

I've just recieved an email from my MP saying that he has forwarded the stash of articles I sent him (including stuff from Skeptical Inquirer, Wired News, Washington Post, BBC, Salon and Spiked-Online) to David Blunkett.

Keep an eye out on the Home Office website in case public consultations on this matter crop up.

[BillHoyt]

Originally posted by materia3


I think this is the link:

http://www.brainwavescience.com/

Welcome back, Steve. You've given yourself away far too easily. How many people are interested in the details of apnea, herpetology, Farwell, etc. etc. Man, you are the Clouseau of internet disguise.
:dl:
Next time, don't go after Claus and me so quickly. You wouldn't have been on my radar screen otherwise.

[Bjorn]

Someone still believes in it:

Polygraph Testing Starts at Pentagon in Chalabi Inquiry
By DAVID JOHNSTON and JAMES RISEN

Published: June 3, 2004


WASHINGTON, June 2 — Federal investigators have begun administering polygraph examinations to civilian employees at the Pentagon to determine who may have disclosed highly classified intelligence to Ahmad Chalabi, the Iraqi who authorities suspect turned the information over to Iran, government officials said Wednesday.From NY Times today.