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PhotographyIn the US, polygraphs (lie detectors) are still widely used by law enforcement – in spite of the fact that they rely on measuring physiological excitement.
“You have not slept and were treated badly for the last 24 hours. We are three bullies in police uniforms, and we are armed. We want to know if you commited a crime. We are screaming at you.
Wait, the polygraph tells me … you are sweating! And your heart is beating fast! You must be guilty!”
This is unbelievable.
In 1988, the “Employee Polygraph Protection Act” was signed. It states that companies must not force (potential) employees to take polygraph tests in order to employ or sack them.
The idea behind this law is not that polygraphy is nonsense, but that employees’ privacy (!!) must be protected.
Again, unbelievable.
(Source: tagesschau.de)
February 2nd, 2010 at 20:14
The thing is, after all the beating, threatening and being screamed at, you’re already willing to confess to anything. So no need for polygraphs in the not-so-secret CIA prisons.
For any other purpose, I have to think of Shane in The Shield:
“A couple of Vicodin and you’ll have them believing you don’t jerk off!”