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Established in 1971, the Maryland Institute of Criminal Justice provides polygraph services for legal, medical, civil and employee related areas. Polygraph examiners at MICJ are members of the American Polygraph Association and Maryland Polygraph Association, and are graduates of APA accredited polygraph schools. Polygraph examiners at MICJ were the first in Maryland to use the latest state of the art technology of computerized polygraphs. The advantage of computerized polygraph is the capability of utilizing THE JOHNS HOPKINS APPLIED PHYSICS LAB scoring algorithm "POLYSCORE" which will analyze and report a probability statement of truth or deception. Polygraph services at MICJ are provided by Director, Billy H. Thompson and Assistant Director, Vickie T. Murphy. In addition to being expert polygraph examiners, they are current polygraph instructors at the MICJ polygraph examiner training program, which is an APA nationally accredited polygraph training school that was established in 1975 for training police and investigators. These expert polygraph services are utilized by professionals in the legal, investigative, police, and medical communities, as well as in private practice.
To become enrolled in the MICJ basic polygraph examiner course, you need to download and mail (or fax: 410-987-4808) BOTH of these forms:Note: For faster downloading and saving, right-click on the file link until a pop-up menu appears. Choose "Save This Link As..." or "Save Target As..." from the pop-up menu. A dialog box will appear. Choose where you would like the file saved, then click the "Save" button. You will need to locate and manually open your file because using the "Save Target As..." command does not automatically open a file |
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A polygraph test consists of several different phases: a pretest interview, the collection of charts, and an analysis of the polygraph charts. The average polygraph test will usually last 2-3 hours from beginning to end. The longest part of the polygraph test will be the pretest interview, which normally lasts anywhere between 45-90 minutes. During the pretest interview, the polygraph examiner will explain your legal rights, explain the polygraph instrument and how it works, discuss the issue, develop and review all questions asked on the polygraph test, cover general background information, and will provide instructions for the actual testing phase. The polygraph consists of three or more components: the pneumograph component that records respiration and movement, the galvanograph or G.SR. component records your galvanic skin response and changes in skin resistance, and the cardiosphygmograph component records your relative blood pressure and pulse rate. Once the pretest interview has been completed, the polygraph examiner will place four attachments on the subject's person: two rubber pnemograph tubes across the upper chest and abdomen, two metal fingerplates across the ring and index finger, and a bloodpressure cuff around the upper arm. During the collection of charts, the examiner will ask the reviewed questions two to three times, and run a minimum of two to three separate charts before rendering an opinion. It is expected that anyone who takes a polygraph test will be nervous; however nervousness does not normally interfere with the test . Even though a person has high bloodpressure, diabetes, etc., their body has a set of normal patterns on a daily basis. When a person decides to lie, however, physiological changes begin to take place in the body. Bloodpressure begins to increase or decrease. Heart rate can increase or decrease. A person's heart can skip a beat. Blood volume begins to change. These are just a few of the types of physical changes that can occur. In the case of deception, more than one type of physiological change usually occur. The person taking the test must decide whether or not they are going to tell the truth, or whether or not they are going to lie and withhold information about the relevant issues. Once a person decides to tell the truth, the body goes about its normal patterns with no significant or consistent changes.
According to the American Polygraph Association, over 250 studies have been conducted on the accuracy of polygraph testing during the past 25 years and it is estimated that the accuracy of decisions is generally in the range of 85-95% for specific issue investigations. Some of the most frequent errors may be caused by lack of training, non-functioning equipment, failure to properly prepare the examinee for the examination, poorly worded test questions, failure to assess the examinee's emotional and physical condition, improper use of testing techniques, a lack of quality control review, and misreadings of the physiological data on the polygraph charts. Fees for polygraph services usually depend upon the complexity and type of polygraph test to be conducted, and the average polygraph test will take between 3-4 hours and will include a detailed pretest interview, collection of charts whereby the examiner will administer a number of polygraph charts, and an analysis of the polygraph charts. If you select a polygraph examiner solely on the basis of rates, you should understand that shortcuts in time and service may lead to errors and future legal problems. The cost of a polygraph exam will vary and depend upon the issues involved. If you are interested in obtaining specific costs, contact MICJ for a free initial consultation to evaluate your polygraph needs. To obtain an application or to find out more about the MICJ Accredited polygraph training program, contact the institute by telephone, fax or email at: •Phone - (410)987-6665 MICJ, 8424 Veterans Highway, Suite 3, Millersvile, Maryland 21108
MICJ HAS BEEN PROVIDING POLYGRAPH EXAMINATIONS SINCE 1971 AND ALL EXAMINERS ARE PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED AND MEET ALL PRFESSIONAL STANDARDS. |
