National Academy of Sciences report says polygraph testing too flawed for security screening - News and Comment

The report says some potential alternatives to polygraphs show promise, but none has led to scientific breakthroughs in lie detection. Moreover, the federal government has not seriously developed the science base of any method to detect deception through the analysis of individuals' psychological and physiological reactions.

The study was sponsored by the Department of Energy, whose National Nuclear Security Administration said the agencies would "carefully review" the report and consider the findings in developing a new polygraph program over the ensuing several months. U.S. Senators Pete Domenici and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico sponsored legislation in 2001 requiring DOE to overhaul its polygraph program based on the findings in the NAS report, which Bingaman had requested. It now has six months to do so. Two of the nation's three national laboratories with responsibilities for nuclear weapons are located in New Mexico.

Bingaman and Domenici issued a joint statement after the report was released calling on DOE to "abolish its current policy of using extensive polygraph testing as a screening tool" for DOE and national defense labs employees. Added Bingaman, Chairman of the Energy and Natural, Resources Committee, "From a practical standpoint, this policy never made sense to me. Now we have scientific evidence that it doesn't work. It's time to change this flawed policy."

Kendrick Frazier is Editor of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER.

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