COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course includes the study of lie detection techniques, focuses on the

conduct of polygraph examination, use of polygraph instruments using the standard procedures as
applied in criminal investigation, detection of crime and administration of justice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of the semester, students shall be able to;

1. Distinguish the phases of polygraph examination, components of polygraph, chart markings, and
rules in chart interpretation.

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES; at the end of the discussion, students shall be able to;

1. The students shall be able to distinguish the phases of polygraph examination, components of
Polygraph, chart markings, and rules in chart interpretation.

2. Students shall be able to identify and explain the components of a polygraph machine, including their
functions and significance in the examination process.

3. Students shall be able to analyze and interpret various chart markings produced during a polygraph
examination, understanding their relevance to physiological responses.

4. Students will be able to accurately identify and interpret commonly used signs and symbols in chart
marking, demonstrating an understanding of their meanings and applications in navigation,
communication, and data representation.

5. Students shall be able to apply the established rules and guidelines for interpreting polygraph charts,
ensuring accurate and reliable conclusions.

A.) LESSON 1. PHASES OF POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION (PC/INP Laboratory Manual, 1977).

A. PHASE I (PRELIMINARY PREPARATIONS) - Initial Interview with the investigator handling the case or
person requesting it. The group involve in this stage are the Victim / Complaint, Suspects, Witnesses.
This stage includes obtaining and evaluation of facts, determining the areas the subjects needs to be
asked and the investigator must furnish the examiner of the following:

a) Sworn statement of the suspect / witnesses/ victim/ complainant, Incident or spot report, B.I. of
the suspect, witnesses, and victim / complainants, rough sketch or pictures of the crime scene
and other facts such as Specific article and exact amount of money stolen.
b) Peculiar aspect of the offense or any strange set.
c) Exact time the offense was committed.
d) Known facts about the suspect's action or movement.
e) Facts indicating any connection between the suspects, victim and witnesses. f.COL
f) Exact type of weapon, tool or firearms used.
g) Result of laboratory test.
h) Unpublished facts of the offense known only by the victim, suspects and the investigator.
B.) PHASE II - PRE-TEST INTERVIEW with the subject - The primary purpose of the pre- test interview is to
prepare or condition the subject for the test.

a) The appraisal of subject's constitutional right.

b) Obtain subject's consent to undergo polygraph test by signing a statement of consent.
c) The taking of personal data of the subject.
d) Determining his/her suitability as a subject.
e) Evaluating the psychological preparation of the subject.
f) Informing the subject of his involvement with the case.

The following rights of the subject must be informed clearly to him/her:

a) The right to remain silent

b) Anything he/she say may be used in favor or against him/her
c) The right to have a lawyer of his/her own choice
d) Right to refuse

As earlier noted, subjects will not be scheduled for examination when they:

a) are obviously fatigued or in ill health.

b) are physically injured or in pain.
c) their judgment is obviously influenced by or impaired by drugs or alcohol.
d) have just suffered emotional trauma.

The examiner's interview with the subject prior to the test is of considerable importance, both for the
purpose of conditioning the subject for the examination and also in order to provoke and observe the
helpful indications of guilt and innocence which are often forthcoming at this time.

The following is the detailed outline of the pre-test interview which has been found to be effective. (We
are assuming in the case illustrated that the subject has already been advised of the fact that he is to be
given a lie-detector test.)

a) As the examiner enters the waiting room to request the subject to accompany him into the
examination room, the greeting which the examiner extends should be cordial, but firm.
b) Upon entering the examination room the subject should be requested to sit down in a chair
alongside the instrument, and immediately thereafter the examiner should proceed to the
taking of the consent of the subject.
c) Then fill up the necessary data asked in the interrogation log.
d) Afterwards inquire from the subject whether he has been on a lie detector test before. No
further comment should be made by the examiner but he should listen carefully to whatever
the subject himself may say.
e) If the subject has not told of the purpose of his appearance in the testing laboratories, the
examiner should explain that a lie detector test is desired of him as part of the investigation
regarding the case. Much time should be spent in the preliminary interview as the
circumstances reasonably warrants.
C.) PHASE III (THE EXAMINATION/INSTRUMENTAL TEST) The conduct of Instrumentation and Actual Test.

After the pre-test interview, the examiner should proceed to place the attachment on the subject. The
first to be attached is Pneumograph, then the Cardiosphymograph and the Galvanograph. Review all the
questions with the subject before the actual examination is made. The examiner should discourage any
comments or statement by the subjects. Test instrument must be given to the subject.

a) Upon completion of the necessary preliminary preparation the instruments is attached to the
subject.
b) The blood pressure pulse cuff is wrapped around snugly around the subject's upper arm and the
pneumograph tube adjusted around the chest.
c) If female subjects or around the body, if male subjects or around the torso of male subjects.
d) The cuff is then inflated to a point approximate midway between the systolic and diastolic blood
pressure. That is midway between the pressure produced by the output action of the heart and
that maintained at the time of the hearts intake action.
e) The synchronous motor carrying the paper upon which blood pressure pulse respirations
recording are made is then set in motion, the motor being so timid that the paper moves along
at the rate of a out six inches per minute, then ten to fifteen seconds after the instrument has
been set in motion, the inked filled pens of the instruments are permitted to make their blood
pressure pulse respiration tracings before the question are asked of the subject.
f) During the test period the subject is informed that he will be asked several questions which
should be answered by either yes or no answers, and that they are so brief and to the point.
g) Approximately five to ten seconds after this instruction first question is asked and then the other
questions follows after or at the interval of fifteen or twenty seconds.

Take Note: The questions may be written in advance of the test or in the course of the test during the
intervals between the asking of each question. The phraseology of the test question is an extremely
important aspect of the examination. The questions, and every word used in the questions must be
unambiguous, unequivocal, and thoroughly understandable by the subject. The questions must be
states as simply as possible, and with a complete avoidance of such double inquires as "Did you shoot
him and then run into the house"? All questions must have only a single, unambiguous meaning. Avoid
lengthy questions and avoid legal terms such as rape, murder, embezzlement, etc.

D.) PHASE IV - POST-TEST INTERVIEW/ INTERROGATION - This includes all consideration that bears on
the examination. This is done just after the instrument is turned off. If the Polygraph test result indicates
deception, the examiner will then proceed to conduct short interrogation. The purpose of which is to
obtain confession. However, if the Polygraph indicates that the subject is innocent; the examiner will
just release the subject cordially and thanks him/her for his/her cooperation.

The purposes of further questioning after the test are:

a) to clarify the findings;

b) to learn if there are any other reasons for the subject's responding to a relevant question, other
than the knowledge of the crime; and
c) to obtain additional information and an admission for law enforcement purposes, if the results
suggest deception.
LESSON 2. COMPONENTS OF POLYGRAPH

LEGAL STATUS OF POLYGRAPH

When does the Polygraph result is Admissible in Court?

1) When the examination is conducted upon a court order.

2) When business suffers economic loss and the employee of that business who refuses the exam
is implicated.
3) When the polygraph is made a condition or precedent to employment in continuous
employment.
4) When the nature of the subject's relation to the public so demand. (Public Trust is paramount).

The Collateral Aspect of Polygraph

1) Pre-employment Screening - it provide a safe method in verifying statements of a job applicant,

prevent false evaluation and false judgment as reported by previous employer who carry a
personal grudge against him Done when the subject is applying for a job.
2) Periodic Screening - conducted to organic employees only, act as constant deterrent to
employee's dishonesty and create a bond of mutual strength among employees. We call it as
personnel check.
3) Intelligence Testing - provide a scientific method of testing the intelligence of a person.

The Advantages of Pre-Employment Screening for Employee

1) Prevent false evaluation and unfair judgment due to personality conflicts reported by a previous
supervisor or employer.
2) It does away with lengthy waiting while employment application is being check, telephone,
telegram or letter.
3) Eliminate the potential hazard of a person knowing to work along side with other who might
endanger their live or job security.
4) It create a desire for incentives
5) Provides a safe method for a person to be cleared of unwarranted suspicion and unjust
accusation and malicious gossip.
6) It will create a bond of mutual strength between employees.

The Advantages of the Pre-Employment Screening for Employer

1) Provides an accurate method, whereby the employment background of an applicant and

relevant issues collateral thereto can be immediately checked and verify at a negligible cost.
2) Detect the chronic alcoholic job jumper and accident prone person.
3) Reveals some of the unusual aspect concerning the psychologically mal-adjusted agitator
amateur and professional theft in private industry.
4) Reduces costly personnel turnover by helping management put the right person on the job and
ascertaining an applicant attitude toward job permanent.
5) Acts as constant deterrent to employee dishonesty and permit basically honest employee to
work in greater harmony with basically honest employee.

Tripod Foundations of Polygraph Technique

 1) The Mechanical Leg Basic Premise - The polygraph machine is mechanically capable of making
graphical records containing reliable information regarding physiological changes
2) The Physiological Leg Basic Premise - Among the physiological changes that may be recorded
and identified are those that automatically occur only following the stimulation of specific
nervous system component and from which stimulation of those specific nervous system
components can be reliably diagnosed.
3) Psychological Leg Basic Premise - Under the polygraph leg premise, the specific nervous system
component whose stimulation can thus be diagnosed are so stimulated by the involuntary
mental and emotional processes of the individual who is consciously attempting concealment of
deception specially if that individual has something at stake and the prevailing circumstances
lead him to believe that exposure to detection is quite possible though undesirable (Panganiban
and Calang, 2011 p. 26).

Theory of Polygraph Examination

When a mentally normal person tells a lie, physiological changes occur within his body that could be
recorded by the instrument and evaluated by the examiner (Panganiban and Calang, 2011 p. 27).

Cardinal Rule of the Polygraph Examiner

"Always OBJECTIVITY over SUBJECTIVITY" (Panganiban and Calang, 2011 p. 27).

Ultimate Objective of Polygraph Examination

The ultimate objective of Polygraph Examination is to obtain the Subject's "ADMISSION or CONFESSION"
of the offense committed (Panganiban and Calang, 2011 p. 27).

The Validity and Reliability of the Polygraph

This has been the unending question among many of us. However, practitioners have agreed that the
accuracy of the polygraph results ranges from 85% to 100% depending upon the factors that affect it
(Hipolito, Manwong and Sarmiento,2010 p. 140)

Use of the polygraph or any other scientific tool or technique in a forensic setting, wherein the right of
the individuals are involved, should be based on the demonstrated validity and reliability of the
technique. With respect to polygraph, the question is whether the polygraph examiner is consistently
able to detect deception.

There are obvious problems in trying to conduct research to determine the validity and reliability of the
polygraph. First, it is very difficult to simulate the psycho physiological reactions of a criminal suspect in
a laboratory study or mock crime situation. The same elements of fear and motivation that would be
acting on suspects in an actual crime are just not present. Second, it is difficult to determine validity and
reliability by studying polygraph results in actual criminal cases the complete truth regarding the crime
and its perpetrators is generally unavailable and conclusions reached by polygraph examiners are
normally not subject to full confirmation. There have been a number of studies that give noteworthy
recognition to the validity and reliability of the polygraph. One study published in 1978, which used
polygraph examinations under laboratory conditions as well as on criminal suspects, concluded an
accuracy rate in excess of 90 percent accurate with an almost matching reliability rate. It is generally
believed that laboratory testing used in polygraph research tends to affect adversely the otherwise
higher validity and reliability rates. Under laboratory conditions, it is difficult to simulate the stress that
occurs under actual conditions (Manalo, 1992 pp. 31-32)

FOUR MAJOR COMPONENTS OF THE POLYGRAPH

a. Pneumograph - this occupy the two/upper pens of the instrument which records the thoraric
and abdominal breathing patterns of respiration. This is accomplished through the use of a
pneumograph consisting of two hollow corrugated tubes about seven inches in length, each
attached to a unit by a rubber hose not longer than six feet and not larger than one quarter inch
in diameter. This breathing or pneumo unit is a low pressure unit. The inhalation/exhalation of
the subject causes the tubes to expand and contract, thereby reflecting the change through
billows to the pen into the chart (Manalo, 1992 p. 17).
b. Galvanometer - this is the longest and the third pen of the instrument. The electrodes are
attached to the index finger and the ring finger of the left hand, or to the palmar and dorsal
surfaces of the left hand. The electrodes used for obtaining the recording of the GSR or electro-
dermal responses, are fastened to the hand or finger by means of the passage of an
imperceptible amount of electrical current through the hand or finger bearing the attached
electrodes, a galvanometer unit provides recording of the variation in the flow of the electrical
current (Manalo, 1992 p. 17-18).
c. Cardiosphymograph - this is the fourth and the bottom pen of the instrument. This cardio unit is
a mechanically operated unit. It is a high pressure system. This system records changes in mean
blood pressure, rate and strength of pulse beat by means of a medical blood pressure cuff
containing a rubber bladder that is wrapped around the upper arm, in a manner that places the
bladder against the brachial artery. The bladder is connected to the rubber hose, past a pressure
indicating gauge to a very sensitive billows and its connected lever system that powers the pen.
The polygraphist inflates the bladder with a hand pump to a constant air pressure that will
provide tracing amplitude of 0.75 to 1 inch with a dichotic notch situated about the middle of
the diastolic limb of the tracing (Manalo, 1992 pp. 18-19).
d. Kymograph - This is the chart recording unit of the instrument. It has a synchronized motor that
drives the charts at the rate of six inches per minute and its speed constant is vital because the
vertical lines, which are spaced either at one-half or one inch interval, represents five or ten
seconds interval on the chart. This provides the polygraphist with a means of determining pulse
rater and question spacing (Manalo, 1992 p. 19).

Electrodes and Controls

1. RESONANCE CONTROL - It allows you to clear up or make a better pattern when you have too
much pulse pressure of the subject.
2. HAND ELECTRODE - This is fastened to the hand by a stretched band. Function is to make
electrical contact with the subject.
3. PANEL CONTROL - to allow the operator to control or adjust the operation of the galvanograph.

There are other five important controls:

1. Off and on power switch - on switch is to energize the galvanograph section.

2. Subject's resistance control - is to balance the galvo section to the skin resistance of the subject
3. Reactivity control - to adjust sensitivity of the galvo section.
 4. Self-centered normal switch - is to select either mode of operation.
5. Self-centering mode - is when the circuit electronically centers the pen itself after every
excursion.

CONTROLS OF THE CARDIO-SPHYGMOGRAPH SECTION

1. Manual centering knob - used to place cardio in its proper place on the chart.
2. Vent Valve - is used to left atmospheric pressure into the system and used to release pressure all
or parts of the pressure.
3. Resonance control- is used to decrease the amplitude of the cardio tracing and used to sharpen
the diacrotic notch.