Panamanian Interrogators Getting State Dept. Polygraph Training

Posted by Stephen Peacock - December 2, 2005 at 12:19 pm
The U.S. State Dept. is launching an initiative to train and certify personnel of the government of Panama as polygraph examiners -- a project whose objective is to make Panamanian authorities proficient in "advanced interrogation" techniques, according to a Dec. 1 bid request.
  This "lie detector" training is to be carried out by a private contractor under the guidance of the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. The selected firm will be responsible for acquiring the polygraph equipment and providing Spanish-language polygraph training "at a suitable location in Panama," the document says.

The training, which will be conducted in Spanish without the aid of interpreters, also includes intensive study of physiology, technical computerized instrumentation, questions instructions and scoring techniques. It will be administered using the U.S. Dept. of Defense format "and curriculum organized by the International Association of Polygraphers," it continues.

Opinions about the accuracy and usefulness of polygraph testing vary greatly. Whereas anti-polygraph activists say there is no scientific basis supporting the veracity of this technology, the International Assn. of Police Polygraphers claims an accuracy level in the 96%-98%range.

National security and defense agencies continue to rely on polygraph testing as an investigative tool. However, the applicability of what polygraph interrogations may or may not produce is severely limited in criminal cases and for pre-employment screening under U.S. law -- obviously not a factor in Panama.

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About Stephen Peacock

I'm currently a high school English teacher and writer. I'm also a former Washington, DC, journalist, having worked for Communications Daily and Washington Internet Daily (WID), investigative newsletters that cover the telecommunications, broadcast and Internet industries. Following the 9/11 attacks, my news beat expanded beyond Capitol Hill telecom/TV/IT policy and began to include technology-policy coverage at the Pentagon and Dept. of Homeland Security. I've written over a thousand articles about government and industry affairs, and I'm pleased to say that I was the reporter who broke the story about the Total Information Awareness surveillance/data-collection initiative of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. I've written articles for publications including NACLA Report on the Americas, Drug Enforcement Report, Corrections Journal, and The Tampa Tribune. I've also written a memoir about my former career as a plainclothes security officer of the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze.
http://jerseysandstorm.blogspot.com/
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About Stephen Peacock

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http://jerseysandstorm.blogspot.com/

Biography
I'm currently a high school English teacher and writer. I'm also a former Washington, DC, journalist, having worked for Communications Daily and Washington Internet Daily (WID), investigative newsletters that cover the telecommunications, broadcast and Internet industries. Following the 9/11 attacks, my news beat expanded beyond Capitol Hill telecom/TV/IT policy and began to include technology-policy coverage at the Pentagon and Dept. of Homeland Security. I've written over a thousand articles about government and industry affairs, and I'm pleased to say that I was the reporter who broke the story about the Total Information Awareness surveillance/data-collection initiative of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. I've written articles for publications including NACLA Report on the Americas, Drug Enforcement Report, Corrections Journal, and The Tampa Tribune. I've also written a memoir about my former career as a plainclothes security officer of the Helmsley Palace hotel in New York City, Hotel Dick: Harlots, Starlets, Thieves & Sleaze.