Civil & Criminal Polygraph Test Investigations

In our modern times, polygraph examinations remain one of the surest ways to help determine if someone is lying or telling the truth in both civil and criminal cases. The process is quick and easy, and there is some cost, but their accuracy and reliability are so high that they have remained popular and well-known for many years. Child sexual abuse private investigators, law enforcement officials, and cheating spouse private detectives alike can benefit from their use, as can private citizens in non-criminal cases. This is why our private investigation agency utilizes these special investigative tools on a regular basis for all types of legal cases.

Polygraphs in Oklahoma City for Criminal Investigations:

Lie detector tests are especially effective in both civil and criminal cases, where law enforcement and rape private detectives may not know whether a suspect is guilty or innocent. These special investigative tools are perfect for helping police better understand whether the person they suspect of a crime is guilty or innocent, enabling them to focus their criminal investigation efforts upon people who committed the crime instead of innocent townspeople. Indeed, some of the crimes that police use lie detector tests for include, but are not limited to, the following types of crimes:

Homicide Polygraph Investigations:

Police love using polygraphs in difficult murder cases, especially where they lack the needed evidence or suspect confession to make an arrest in the case. If they have a suspect in mind and the person is willing to submit to a murder polygraph test to help determine if the person indeed took part or was the sole perpetrator in the killing of another person, it can have significant impacts on the direction that a cold case private investigation takes.

Cold case lie detector tests in Del City can be a great “confirmation” assessment to help convince murder suspects to confess. Police can also use other evidence, such as DNA, CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts, etc., to press suspects to finally come clean with the truth as well, but when even the best evidence does not do the job then homicide polygraph test results that show deception can come in extremely handy! Such results help tighten the noose and make a path to freedom narrower for the criminal defendant.

Sex Crimes – Rape, Child Molestation, Indecent Exposure, Child Pornography, Etc.:

Law enforcement officers and sexual assault private investigators alike love to use polygraphs in Mustang to help determine if someone committed a sex crime. While voluntary, we get these types of cases from families where the issue of rape or child molestation have come into question. It is most common when the alleged victim of sexual abuse is a child.

Many families wish to have a polygraph test upon the child or other alleged victim of sexual abuse, instead of on the accused perpetrator. As we will discuss later, this is inappropriate because it revictimizes the potential victim. Plus, if the kid is under sixteen years of age, it will not be effective anyway. Instead, it is more appropriate to evaluate the accused sex offender, and if the results come back that the subject showed deception about his/her/their involvement in the alleged incident, then the family, polygraph examiner, and law enforcement personnel can then take further action as appropriate.

Burglary/Theft Polygraph Investigations:

Burglary polygraph investigations can also benefit from the use of polygraphs near me. Law enforcement officers and private eyes alike, in the absence of video camera footage, confessions, eyewitnesses, DNA, etc., can use deceptive results from a lie detector test in Edmond, OK to help catch the right suspect. Suspects who fail the test are more likely to confess, and if they end up admitting the crime or to any other criminal offense during the exam then the polygraphist in Oklahoma can also present that testimony to the courts as well on behalf of the prosecutors and law enforcement personnel.

Fraud & Forgery Cases:

Sometimes guilt is easy for a fraud private detective or police department to pinpoint, but this is not always the case. When this happens and multiple suspects exist, polygraph tests in Nichols Hills, OK, when combined with artificial intelligence private investigations, can help uncover the guilty party and can help solve the case!

Kidnapping/Child Abductions

“I was not the kidnapper” is something law enforcement officers and kidnapping private investigators alike hear far too often. Sadly, many people who claim they have no part in the abduction of a child, adult human, or even cats and dogs are often guilty. In the absence of concrete evidence, there is no way to know for certain though, unless a polygraph examiner runs a polygraph exam on the parental kidnapping suspect. The body seldom ever lies, and police and our private investigation agency can both catch kidnappers’ deception!

All Other Criminal Cases:

From human and sex trafficking to the selling of narcotics and more, our polygraphs in OKC are the best for catching liars and other deceptive people. Police and criminal private investigators of all types love the use of polygraph tests as part of their criminal private investigations, and law enforcement personnel also love to use them on willing suspects to help narrow down the list and confirm their suspicions. That way law enforcement and other investigative personnel can focus their efforts and resources on the right suspects, saving time, money, and adding expediency to successful solving of their criminal investigation.

Polygraph Examinations in Moore, Oklahoma for Civil Private Investigations:

Polygraphs are also especially helpful in civil matters, too, as there are a ton of reasons private citizens seek to hire a polygraphist to help them determine the truth of a matter. People from all levels of society seek to hire a polygraph examiner to help them. Some of the situations when people want a polygraph include, but are not limited to, the following:

Infidelity Polygraph Investigations:

Most civil/non-law enforcement polygraphs involve adultery and other cheating in relationships. Infidelity polygraphs are indeed the bread and butter of most polygraph businesses, because adultery cases are non-prosecuted crimes in nature. Thus, police and other law enforcement personnel do not investigate them, and prosecutors do not charge people with the crime. Technically, in Oklahoma adultery is still a crime, but there have been no prosecutions for it since the 1960s.

Private citizens rely upon polygraphists in OKC to run cheating spouse polygraphs, and they sometimes also hire an adultery private investigator to conduct infidelity private investigations like surveillance, skip tracing, running license plate checks, etc. These special tests come in particularly handy where PIs have been unable to obtain concrete video footage, text messages, or other evidence that clearly shows marital infidelity.

Infidelity polygraphs account for ninety-five percent of all tests we run. Sexual misconduct, fraud, and others make up the other five percent. Thus, without the unfortunate cheating epidemics that take place in societies worldwide, polygraph examiners in El Reno, OK would go bankrupt. At least society’s moral would not be completely bankrupt though.

Theft/Fraud Polygraph Investigations:

Our legal firm also receives occasional requests for polygraphs to help determine whether someone stole something or committed fraud. This can be anything from concerns about a family member to employees, and employers/insurance companies/law firms/governmental agencies that have doubts as to whether someone is truly injured in a workplace or automobile accident. These requests for lie detector tests for fraud and theft can easily arise from petty disputes among family members to more serious allegations of fraud or embezzlement that has cost companies and/or governmental agencies tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions!

It is imperative to note though that certain federal laws like the Employee Polygraph Protection Act protect most workers from having to take fraud polygraphs as a condition of initial or continued employment. This is because the people who elected government officials did not want to leave a way open for employers to abuse theft polygraph examinations by forcing them to go before polygraph examiners to take what most consider to be an invasive formal assessment. Some exceptions to this law do exist though.

Police and fire departments are among some of the most common employers who have the special exemptions from the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Likewise, the CIA and certain higher level political staffing positions are also subject to polygraph tests for honesty, national security, and more. Most professions see the people who work therein protected from forced polygraph testing though.

Sexual Misconduct Polygraph Investigations:

The last biggest category or reason that clients of polygraph companies request assistance is because of rape, child sexual abuse, or child pornography allegations. This can also include sex trafficking as well. Indeed, our sexual assault polygraph tests are instrumental in helping families and law enforcement personnel alike determine whether sexual exploitation occurred within any given situation. There are some things that polygraph examiners in Midwest City, Oklahoma be particularly careful about when conducting sex crimes polygraphs.

It is vital that polygraphists near me never require alleged victims of any crimes, especially sexual and physical assaults, to take polygraph tests. Doing so can severely retraumatize them, having to relive the experience and “prove” to others that the horror they may have indeed experienced did in fact occur. It shifts responsibility onto them, and if they are under sixteen years of age it will not work anyway. Indeed, victim blaming also occurs in modern societies, whereby a tendency exists to shift blame onto the alleged victim, which only exacerbates crimes of rape, sexual assault, and child molestation.

If victims of rape, sexual harassment, and other crimes insist upon taking the polygraph, then it is okay, but no one should ever try to coerce or force them into doing so. Instead, try to get the alleged perpetrator to take the sexual harassment polygraph examination instead. Of course, many times accused perpetrators will refuse to take sex offender polygraphs, and this is why many victims come forward to take the exam instead to try to prove that what they have claimed did indeed occur.

Convicted Sex Offender Polygraph Investigations:

Laws also generally mandate that convicted sex offenders must continue to take intermittent polygraphs in Edmond, OK to see if they have reoffended against others while on probation. If they refuse to take a lie detector test or fail it, then the probation officer can seek to revoke their probation and send them back to prison. This helps ensure that while many convicted sex offenders can return to society, this continued monitoring also helps ensure they do not pose a continued threat and risk of danger to the society in which they live.

Many Oklahoma polygraph examiners do not like to do polygraph tests for convicted sex offenders though. Governments regulate the associated costs, which are often half of what they can receive from other privately paid customers. Many polygraphists in Oklahoma also do not like to even be around people convicted of such crime or be a part of helping to keep them out of prison while on probation. Thus, the pool of licensed polygraph examiners who are capable and willing to run these types of exams is sizably smaller.

How Polygraph Tests in Norman, Oklahoma Work:

Accuracy & Reliability of Polygraphs in Piedmont, Oklahoma:

The accuracy of polygraph examinations is increasing as technology and artificial intelligence continue to redefine and change how they work. Their effectiveness also depends upon the skill of the person conducting the polygraph test. A polygraph’s accuracy usually remains somewhere about eight-five to ninety-five percent. This seldom meets the mark required for admission into judicial proceedings, but they remain extremely accurate, nonetheless. As time progresses, you can watch as AI and new technological advances increase their overall effectiveness levels.

People that Polygraph Examiners Cannot Conduct Lie Detector Tests Upon:

There are some people that polygraph examiners must not conduct any type of polygraph upon. These include, but are not limited to, the following classes of individuals:

Children Under the Age of Sixteen:

Kids under sixteen years of age are also people upon conducting lie detector tests in OKC will prove to be ineffective. These children are simply too you, and empirical evidence continually shows that these tests are not accurate when administered upon kids this young.

Victims of Abuse, Unless They Insist:

Victims of abuse are not ones that polygraphists in Edmond, Oklahoma should conduct these tests upon. Doing so revictimizes them and forces them to live through the trauma again, just as courtroom testimony does. This is also a reason why prosecutors urge guilty defendants to take plea deals, to spare their victims the re-traumatization that comes with courtroom testimony.

It is possible for victims of sex, physical, and emotional abuse to take a lie detector test in Yukon, Oklahoma, provided they insist and are at least sixteen years of age. Some victims do it when the perpetrator refuses to do so, to show that the crime they have claimed did indeed happen when little or no other evidence exists. Overall though, it is not good practice to routinely assess these victims, because avoiding causing them further harm is especially important.

Pathological Liars:

Polygraphs will not work on known pathological liars. They lie so often and do not see anything wrong with lying. Indeed, these mentally ill people might even believe they are not even telling untruths. Thus, they are unlikely to experience any bodily changes that will indicate deception on a lie detector test’s results and can give false negatives.

Pregnant People:

Those who are pregnant, be they male, female, or nonbinary, can suffer stress while taking a lie detector test. Many polygraph examiners in Oklahoma City, OK shy away from conducting assessments on these individuals, for fear of causing any problems with the pregnancy. The risks to the baby and potential civil and/or criminal liability for the polygraph examiner are something most wish to avoid.

Individuals With Major Health Issues (Heart, Respiratory, Neurological):

People who have certain medical conditions with their respiratory rates or who have heart conditions must not take polygraphs in Mustang. Pulmonary respiratory failure and other maladies which affect a person’s breathing rates, heart rates and other monitored bodily functions can skew the results of the lie detector tests.

People Taking Certain Kinds of Medications:

Those taking certain kinds of medicines, let alone hard drugs like cocaine, marijuana, fentanyl, and meth, must not have an Oklahoma City polygraph examiner assess them. People taking blood pressure, those who have had caffeine, and even those suffering from a lack of sleep can trigger false positives on polygraph tests in Warr Acres, OK. Indeed, before initiating these assessments, infidelity polygraph examiners will ask their potential examinees certain screening questions to help ensure they qualify to take the test itself.

Those With Certain Other Mental Health Issues & Severe Intellectual Disabilities:

People with certain mental health issues must also not take polygraph tests. This includes people with things like paranoid schizophrenia, level two or three autism, Down Syndrome, or having an IQ that is lower than fifty-five. Empirical data shows these tests are unreliable and inaccurate on these types of individuals.

Police & Firefighter Polygraphs:

Some polygraph examiners do polygraph tests for police and fire departments. Many of these types of governmental agencies need to ensure the highest level of honesty and integrity for the people they hire, because the public trust for people in these positions of power is extremely high. If they hire in bad police officers and firefighters, then they can cause considerable damage and harm! Thus, most firefighter departments and police departments opt to require this special assessment for all their new applicants seeking to work for them.

Police polygraphs and firefighter lie detector tests, much like sex offender polygraphs, often pay about half of what polygraph examiners could otherwise receive from private pay tests from private citizens over issues like cheating spouses, theft, fraud, and rape. The governmental agencies set the pricing for them, and while there may be a steadier stream of these polygraphs to provide more reliable income from polygraphs, they often come with additional paperwork and red tape.

Privacy of Oklahoma Polygraph Test Results:

Our private investigation agency helps ensure that the results and outcomes of lie detector tests we administer remain confidential. However, some states like Oklahoma make all polygraphists in Oklahoma mandatory reporters. Thus, issues like elder and child abuse that show someone committed a crime against these vulnerable populations mandate that we report it to law enforcement officials. There are ways around this though.

When confidentiality becomes an issue, it is best to hire a criminal defense attorney and to have the law firm directly hire the polygraph examiner. Since criminal defense attorneys enjoy attorney-client privilege that courts cannot subpoena and the testimony of which is inadmissible in court and other legal action, when a criminal defense lawyer directly hires a polygraph examiner to perform services on behalf of his/her/their client, those attorney-client privileges extend to her/him/them as well. Thus, the mandatory reporting obligations disappear, and if the polygraph examiner in Yukon, OK did disclose the information to law enforcement officers, to DHS, or to the courts, it is not admissible and could expose the polygraph examiner in Norman to licensure suspensions/revocations and civil litigation.

Costs to Hire a Polygraph Examiner Near Me:

The costs to hire a polygraph examiner currently run about five hundred and fifty dollars without a report and six hundred and fifty dollars with a written report. These prices can vary, and with time they will continue to get more expensive. Likewise, police department, fire department, and sex offender polygraph tests usually cost about half the amount that we charge for other non-law enforcement use tests, because the government and departments regulate the fees for them. Thus, the best polygraphists often choose to spend their income on the higher revenue-producing private pay polygraphs that cover areas like infidelity, fraud, theft, sexual assault, etc.

Non-mandatory polygraphs for sex offenses also tend to cost more. This is because polygraph examinations for child sexual abuse and other sexual offenses must take time to read reports, statements, and attorney briefings. They must also type up comprehensive reports after the rape lie detector tests. In addition, these polygraph examiners in Moore, OK must also realize that they may find themselves called to testify in court. Thus, the cost for these types of polygraphs goes up to compensate them accordingly for their time and effort.

Limitations of Polygraphs in Yukon, Oklahoma:

While most courts do not allow polygraph results in court, sometimes attorneys for both sides in a civil or criminal case can agree to certain actions based on lie detector test results, and judges can also allow in testimony where someone admits key pieces of evidence to the polygraph examiner during the test itself.

False Positive & False Negative Results:

No polygraph test near me works perfectly. They are highly dependable and accurate, and much of this depends upon the skill of the polygraphist. However, false positives and negatives can and sometimes do occur, which is why judges rarely allow their results into evidence in criminal trials. They just do not yet meet the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standards that the resolution of criminal charges requires. False positives and false negative results are a rare occurrence though.

Why Many Criminal Defense Lawyers Advise Their Clients Against Taking Polygraph Examinations:

While some criminal defense attorneys in Oklahoma do indeed want their clients to take lie detector tests to determine whether they committed a crime, many directly advise their clients against it. The reasons for this are as follows:

Polygraph Tests Can Have False Positives:

People under stress, with certain health conditions, and those taking certain types of medications can all potentially yield false positives. Stress itself can cause false positives, and thus it can make innocent people look guilty. While polygraph results which confirm innocence are wonderful, it is better for innocent people to have no results at all that test results that accidentally come out with a false positive due to stress or some other medical condition.

Lie Detector Tests Measure Stress, Not Lies

Polygraph tests in Bethany do indeed measure stress, not lies. Most people show increased signs of stress when telling lies, and their bodies respond accordingly. Increased stress is how lie detector tests measure lies, but since they technically measure stress and not the lies themselves, detractors of these tests will state that this face renders them “useless” per se.

Polygraphs Can Still Have Unintended Legal Consequences for Criminal Defendants:

While criminal defendants can help protect themselves by choosing to hire the best criminal defense attorney to officially hire the polygraph examiner who will administer the test to them, not everyone can afford to do so. Thus, since Oklahoma makes polygraph examiners mandatory reporters for certain populations like kids and elderly adults, if the person shows deception on a polygraph over child sexual abuse or elder abuse the examiner must report the findings to law enforcement personnel. Doing so can have very harmful and negative consequences for the person taking even the best polygraph tests. This is especially true, if the person was innocent of the crime.

Evolution of Polygraphs in Edmond, Oklahoma & the Future of the Field:

Some people wonder what the future of polygraph tests will look like. Right now, polygraphs measure bodily responses like an examinee’s heart rate/blood pressure, breathing rate, sweat levels on the skin, etc. Many polygraphists in OKC, OK have also transitioned from the large, clumsy old-style polygraph machines to higher tech, more versatile computer-based ones. Both still have hookups, but the computer-based programs are what more of these legal professionals have moved to.

As the future progresses, we have begun to see the following current trends in Oklahoma polygraph examinations take shape:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning:

AI will continue to be a total gamechanger for every field and profession over the next ten years and beyond, and lie detector tests near me are certainly no exception to the rule. In addition to the other bodily responses that traditional polygraphs test for, artificial intelligence-based polygraph examinations also include the detection of eye movements and vocal changes. The technological changes that AI will continue to bring will totally revolutionize this entire field!

Remote Polygraph Examinations:

Another splendid feature that polygraphs are beginning to take on is that our firm will soon be doing them remotely. Yes, you heard that right! No longer will clients have to come into the office. They can take remote polygraphs from the comfort, seclusion, and privacy of their own home or office setting. Much like with remote mediation services and remote/online notary public services, this is another fantastic way to offer these crucial legal services to those in rural areas or who are otherwise homebound. It saves both them and the remote polygraph examiner from having to spend the added time and money to make an office or home visit.

Better Advanced Software & Data Analysis:

Artificial intelligence and the newer polygraph machines in general are increasingly becoming better at analyzing polygraph test results in real time with higher accuracy and reliability rates. AI and other technological advances will only serve to increase efficiency and possibilities that AI lie detector tests will be able to offer future generations of potential liars and other deceptive people.

Advanced Biometrics & Neuroscience:

As the future progresses, keep a watch out for electroencephalography (EEG) that detect brainwaves, as well as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRIs), and polygraph machines that detect eye movements (i.e., EyeDetect). By adding these other bodily functions, it can increase a polygraph’s reliability and accuracy. The future of these kinds of changes to lie detector tests will be ongoing and will one day make the current techniques our legal professionals use look like activities from the Dark Ages!