The Facts About Polygraph Examinations in the Military
Polygraphs in Military Sexual Assault Cases
Polygraph examinations are a popular polygraph test that is often used in the United States. These tests are conducted to determine whether someone is telling the truth or not. Polygraphs examine physiological responses, such as heart rate and blood pressure, to find out if there is any indication of deception. The use of polygraph examinations has been controversial for many years because they cannot detect lies all the time and some people believe that it violates civil liberties. However, polygraphs can be an effective tool when used correctly by unbiased qualified examiners who know how to read them properly based on their experience and training.
Read on to learn why you should not take a polygraph if you are accused of a military sexual assault.
The pre-polygraph interview can sink your military sexual assault case
Reason number one, a polygraph is not admissible in a criminal trial against you. However, if you agree to a polygraph. You must consent to what’s called a pre-polygraph interview. In a pre-polygraph interview, you will sit down with a skilled law enforcement interrogator, who is also a polygrapher. Polygraphers are usually the most experienced and most skilled of the military law enforcement investigators.
Polygraphers are the best CID, NCIS, OSI, and CGIS agents
CID, NCIS, OSI, and CGIS, select the smartest, most skilled, and most experience agents to be polygraphers. Before the polygraph, CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner will interview you about many aspects of your background, the case, your upbringing, your family, and other things that give them tremendous insight into you, your background, and your psychology.
Are polygraphs admissible in court?
All these things can and will be used against you.
- Everything you tell the polygraph examiner is admissible against you
- Everything you tell the polygraph examiner is admissible against you.
- The only things that are not admissible against you is whether you took the polygraph and whether you passed or failed.
Anything that is said as part of the polygraph is admissible in court:
- Anything that is said before the polygraph is admissible against you.
- Anything that is said during the polygraph is admissible against you.
- Anything that is said after the polygraph is admissible against you.
- Any text messages handed over during the polygraph are admissible against you.
- Any physical evidence handed over during the polygraph is admissible against you.
- All of your statements will be used against you.
If you are falsely accused of military sexual assault, it is important to know your rights and what to do.
Anything and everything you say to a CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph is admissible in court and can be used against you. What you tell a polygrapher is considered an admission, aka a confession. In a pre-polygraph interview, the polygraph examiner will get you to open up about what happened regarding the allegations against you. The polygraph examiner will get you to admit to multiple elements of the crimes that you’re accused of. You won’t even know what’s happening until it’s too late.
What is a polygraph – Polygraph machine
Next, the military polygrapher will tell you the scientific, physiological, and psychological background of a polygraph.
The polygrapher will explain:
- What a polygraph is;
- The history of the polygraph;
- How your body acts when asked questions that you perceive to be threatening;
- How the machine picks up your potential deception when you were asked a question that is threatening; and
- How your body will react to the question and to the answer; and
- How the polygraph machine can determine whether your body sees certain questions as threatening.
If you perceive a question and answer as threatening, then the machine will conclude that you’re lying. You maybe telling the truth, but it will appear as if you are being deceptive.
Polygraph test accuracy
Polygraph examinations are a type of polygraph test used to determine whether someone is telling the truth. They have been around for a long time and are still widely in use today. The polygraph machine measures blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, and perspiration levels while asking questions related to an investigation or issue that needs clarification. There are many myths about polygraphs out there – we’re going to discuss some facts you need to know about this process:
- Polygraph tests measure “physiological arousal” which is when your body reacts differently because of stress or anxiety. This means even if you don’t feel nervous during a question, your body might react as though you were!
- Contrary to popular belief, polygraph tests are not 100% accurate – they just measure “physiological arousal” which means there’s always a chance someone could be telling the truth and still fail.
Are polygraphs accurate
- You should never take polygraph exams as gospel because of this fact.
- It is possible to beat a polygraph test if you know what questions to ask and how to react.
- For example, you can beat polygraph tests by being able to answer a question correctly even if your body is nervous or sweaty!
The polygraph machine
When you are finished with the pre polygraph interview, you will be strapped to the polygraph machine. There will be various straps that monitor different aspects of your body, including your pulse. There’s a pad that goes on your butt to determine whether you’re trying to squint your butt cheeks and avoid lying lie detection. There’s another pad that monitors your heart rate, and pads that monitor other aspects of your human physiology.
The polygraph questions are the key to accuracy
Before conducting the polygraph exam, the examiner will come up with several questions that they intend to ask you. Some of those questions will be extremely vague. Others of them will be very pointed. The questions will be a mixture of vague, non-threatening questions, neutral questions, and threatening questions.
An example of a non-threatening question is:
Today is Tuesday?
A neutral question would be:
Do you agree to answer my questions truthfully?
In a military rape case, a threatening questions may include:
Did you insert your penis into that woman’s vagna?
Did you insert your penis into that woman’s vagina without her consent?
Polygraph test accuracy
The polygrapher will ask questions that are intended to trigger a fear or stress reaction. The polygrapher wants the suspect to lie about something that is not relevant but will trigger a false negative on the exam. For these non-relevant but stressful questions the polygrapher will often ask about embarrassing topics such as your porn history, sexual desires, sexual history, and lying and stealing. Even if your porn history is irrelevant, the polygrapher will ask about it to increase stress on the person being polygraph.
What happens if you fail a polygraph test in the military?
After the polygrapher asks the series of questions three times, the CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner will stop the exam. They’ll leave you sitting in the chair to heighten your anxiety as they pretend to read the results. The results are computer generated. But they’ll pretend they’re reading and interpreting the results. The polygrapher will often leave the room and come back after a while. When they return, they will often tell you that you failed, and that there was deception indicated on at least one of the polygraph.
Reasons for failing a military polygraph test
The CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygrapher will tell you that they think they can get you to pass the polygraph, but they “need to clear some things up first.” This is a trick. They are trying to get you to elaborate and incriminate yourself. The polygrapher will try to convince you to do another interview and retake the polygraph with different questions.
They will pick certain areas of the interrogation that they don’t have enough proof on. Then they will ask you to explain why you may have failed that part of the polygraph. For example, in a rape case, if you tell the CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygrapher that you did not rape the woman and that she consented, the polygrapher will tell you that you failed the polygraph.
Sample polygraph questions
The CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygrapher may say, “There may be some confusion. Maybe at some point that night, she indicated that she did not want to have sex. Did she possibly ever say no or indicate that she did not want to have sex.”
The suspect may reply, “Yeah, earlier that night she said she did not want to have sex unless she was in a committed relationship.”
Investigator: “Oh, that’s what I figured. So she told you that she did not want to have sex from the time that she arrived at your apartment.”
Suspect: “Yeah, that what she saids initially.”
Investigator: “So after she said no, she did not want to have sex, you had sex with her?”
Suspect: “Well, yes. But she wanted it.”
Investigator: “Before the sex, she told you she did not want to have sex?”
Suspect: “Yes.”
Investigator: “After she said no, you had sex with her?”
Suspect: “Yeah but.”
Investigator: “This is not the time to quibble or make excuses. I need you to be 100% honest with me. Do you want to pass this polygraph or not?”
Suspect: “Yes.”
Investigator: “Okay. I appreciate that. Before you had sex with Suzy, she told you she did not want to have sex?”
Suspect: “Yes.”
The CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner will extract a confession, inch by inch.
The CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygrapher will systematically lock the suspect down on incriminating facts. Little by little, they will drive trying to get a confession. They will often repeat this cycle several times, so long as the suspect agrees to be reinterviewed and re-polygraphed. Military law enforcement will continually tell the suspect that they are failing certain aspects of the polygraph and ask for more clarification.
CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner’s lie because they think you’re guilty
If you are being told that you failed the polygraph when you are not lying, it can be confusing, stressful. The CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner’s sole intention is to get you to confess to a crime. They don’t care if you are guilty or innocent. From the onset, they believe that you are guilty.
Are military polygraph tests accurate?
Why you will never pass a CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph
Very rarely do they ever tell the suspect that they pass the polygraph. Even if a suspect passes, they will usually tell them they failed. More often than not, CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS polygraph examiner’s will lie to you and claim that you failed the polygraph, or that your results were inconclusive.
Military sexual assault cases and polygraphs
In a military sexual assault case, if you take a polygraph CID, OSI, NCIS, or CGIS will tell your chain of command that you either failed or were inconclusive. Your chain of command initially may have been on your side and may have thought that you were not guilty. Once law enforcement tells them that you failed the polygraph, they will often turn on you and believe that you committed a military sexual crime. Then, it becomes more likely that they will charge you, and or give you some sort of administrative paperwork or separation.
Contact a military defense lawyer to discuss your rights
So, if you are confronted with a polygraph or the option of taking a polygraph. You should always request a military defense lawyer. Ensure that you are fully advised on your options and your rights BEFORE you ever agree to a polygraph.
If you want to take a polygraph or find a polygraph examiner near you to clear your name, then do it with an independent polygrapher. Ask your military defense lawyer to find you a polygraph examiner that is not part of the law enforcement.
Sometimes it is good to take and pass an independent polygraph. Sometimes, if you pass an independent polygraph, your command will use that to exonerate you. However, it must be done with an independent agency. Find an experienced polygrapher, like a former FBI agent or former Secret Service agent. Whoever you chose should have the proper certifications and credentials to give law enforcement polygraphs.
Never submit to a law enforcement polygraph without a a military defense lawyer
It is never advisable to go into a polygraph alone and without a military defense attorney, thinking that it’s going to clear your name. Military law enforcement will not clear your name, even if you are innocent. More likely than not, you will make statements that can be used against you in a court of law. Anything you say during a polygraph before the polygraph, during the polygraph examination, or after the polygraph can be used against you and taken out of context.
Most polygraphers are biased, so their results are biased
The biggest problem with law enforcement polygraphers is that they are biased. Usually, they don’t realize that they’re biased. They think that they are neutral investigators. But in reality, they are very biased and they are trying to get a confession. After all, they are law-enforcement investigators. They are investigating a crime. And they believe that you committed the crime.
It’s important to understand polygraph examinations in order to make the right decisions about whether or not you should take one. In this blog post, we will discuss polygraphs and the benefits they provide for criminal investigations and other situations.