The utility of post-conviction polygraph testing among sexual offenders

It is often difficult to ascertain the true extent and nature of sexually deviant behavior, as much relies on self-report or historic information. The polygraph has been proposed as a useful tool in the treatment and supervision of sex offenders. The current review aims to provide a coherent, objective, and recent synthesis of evaluation studies exploring the utility of the post-conviction polygraph (PCSOT) in the treatment and management of sexual offenders. This was assessed based on offense recidivism rates and disclosure; self-reported utility was also considered. Nineteen studies were identified from the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands with no randomized controlled trials identified. Overall, there was a significant increase in relevant disclosures associated with the polygraph. The impact on reoffending rates was significant for violent but not sexual offenses. A number of methodological factors introduced the potential for bias in a significant number of studies reviewed in this review

Neuroscience, Ethics, and National Security: The State of the Art

Military involvement and research in neuroscience generates unique ethical, legal, and social issues that require careful elucidation and consideration in order to align the potentially conflicting needs of national defense, public interest, and scientific progress

L’enquête criminelle

L’enquête de police judiciaire constitue, d’après une étude récente de Skogan et Frydl (2003), l’un des objets les moins étudiés dans le champ des études sur la police. Cet article énonce certains des résultats d’une étude effectuée dans 153 dossiers d’homicide montés de 1990 à 2001 par un grand corps policier québécois. Le texte est divisé en quatre parties : (1) on propose d’abord un rapide bilan des écrits sur l’enquête de police judiciaire ; (2) le projet de recherche est ensuite présenté en faisant état de quelques difficultés d’ordre méthodologique ; (3) une taxinomie des principaux types d’enquête de police judiciaire est dressée, qui révèle que les enquêtes recèlent une diversité jusqu’ici relativement inaperçue ; (4) finalement des résultats empiriques sont énoncés, en particulier en ce qui a trait au temps consacré par les enquêteurs pour résoudre les affaires, aux facteurs les plus opérants dans la résolution des affaires et au rôle de la police scientifique et de l’expertise.According to a 2003 survey conducted by Skogan and Frydl, criminal investigation is one of the least studied topics in police research. This article presents some of the findings of an examination of 153 homicide files opened between 1990 and 2001 by a large police force in Quebec. The paper is divided in four parts: (1) First, a brief survey of the writings on criminal investigations is conducted; (2) Our research project is then described and some of the methodological difficulties encountered are discussed; (3) A categorization of the main types of criminal investigation is developed, revealing an unsuspected diversity among investigations; (4) Finally, empirical findings are presented, focusing on the time needed to clear a homicide case, on the main determinants of the clearance process, and on the role of forensics and expertise in solving cases

A review of the polygraph: history, methodology and current status

The history of research into psychophysiological measurements as an aid to detecting lying, widely known as the ‘lie detector’ or polygraph is the focus of this review. The physiological measurements used are detailed and the debates that exist in regards to its role in the investigative process are introduced. Attention is given to the main polygraph testing methods, namely the Comparative Question Test and the Concealed Information Test. Discussion of these two central methods, their uses and problems forms the basis of the review. Recommendations for future research are made specifically in regards to improving current polygraph technology and exploring the role of the polygraph in combination with other deception detection techniques

Сборник студенческих научных работ

В сборнике представлены результаты научно-исследовательской работы студентов Белгородского государственного национального исследовательского университета по итогам 2016 года. Рассматриваются актуальные проблемы в области гуманитарных, технических и естественных нау

Class, Trust and Confessional Media in Austerity Britain

This article situates The Jeremy Kyle Show, a television talk show broadcast in the United Kingdom, in wider narratives of austerity politics in order to explore the reinforcement and legitimation through reality television of neoliberal measures for economic crisis management. In the first section, it is argued that technologies of confession – lie detectors, paternity tests, drug testing – are used on guests who are deemed, by virtue of class position, to be untrustworthy, undermining the very basis of therapeutic talk by deferring to scientific measurement of the body in order to derive truths. In the second section, it is argued that this measurement does not simply identify bodily truths but locates bodies that lack the discipline to contribute efficiently to the austerity agenda, providing a platform for shaming that amounts to an attack on the welfare state. This article introduces austerity television, and the austerity realism that it promotes, as an important area of study in the humanities and social sciences