Preparing for moments of truth

Crime suspects in Cape Girardeau and the region may soon find themselves in the hot seat.

On Monday, the Cape Girardeau Police Department will have a new polygraph, commonly known as a lie detector, and an officer trained to use it.

"It's a great investigative tool," said police Cpl. Don Perry. Perry is taking classes at the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center on how to use a polygraph.

The training, at the Fort Indiantown Gap National Guard Training Center near Annville, Pa., lasts 12 weeks.

The new polygraph will be used by Cape Girardeau police and the local major case squad, county Sheriff John Jordan said. It replaces an outdated machine that was not used because the department no longer had anyone trained to operate it.

John Hurlock, chairman of the Missouri Polygraph Association, doesn't call the machine a lie detector. "We're recording the physiological activity of an examinee," he said.

The polygraph at a minimum records three separate body activities: breathing, heart rate and sweating. The device shows changes in those automatic body functions.

Some indications a suspect may be deceiving the examiner include a rise in heart activity and change in breathing or sweat gland activity.

To help ensure accuracy, the suspect is asked control questions in order to compare with a suspect's reaction to more relevant questions, Hurlock said. In addition, testing should be done in a controlled environment free of outside distractions.

While there are ways some try to defeat the device, such as intentionally changing heart rate or breathing, Hurlock said such methods can be obvious for a trained examiner.

"When they try to beat the polygraph, they're actually trying to beat their own autonomic nervous system, which is hard to do," he said. "They're not going to be able to control what goes on with their sweat gland activity."

The polygraph equipment, which includes a laptop, a special chair and printer, cost $8,656.

Money for the equipment was provided by the County Law Enforcement Restitution Board, which receives funds from defendants found guilty of crimes.

"People who committed crimes in Cape Girardeau County are paying for a device to help catch more criminals," Jordan said. "It's a little poetic justice there."

The cost for Perry's schooling was funded through a grant.

While not admissible into court, Jordan said, polygraphs allow officers to narrow their search.

"In investigations, a lot of times you've got some evidence, but some of it may be a hunch," he said, adding a polygraph may be useful in narrowing down the list of suspects more quickly.

"I've very often seen someone confess when they fail the polygraph test," Cape Girardeau Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said.

Occasionally, the polygraph has also been used to exonerate a suspect, Swingle said.

Several times a year, a defense attorney will suggest a client suspected in a crime take a polygraph, Swingle said. If the suspect passed, Swingle said, he has at times agreed not to pursue charges against that person.

"As a prosecutor, you don't want to risk the chance that you prosecute an innocent person," he said.

Sometimes Swingle has even dropped charges against a defendant who passed an exam.

While Swingle supports the use of the polygraph for investigative purposes, he does not believe the results should have be admitted to court as evidence.

"I believe juries would put too much importance on them," he said. The polygraph falls "far short of scientific reliability" when compared to fingerprints and DNA, both which are admissible in court.

kmorrison@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127