ETHICSAcademy of Polygraph Science

ASTM/APA Standards 2009

Purpose

To establish ethical requirements for all individuals engaged in forensic psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD).

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner shall not circumvent or attempt to circumvent, violate, or attempt to violate any of the following: Any legislative act which regulates or governs

the use of polygraph PDD examiners shall avoid conducting an

examination in a situation which there is a real or apparent conflict of interest

A PDD examiner shall not release any confidential information except when legally required to do so

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner or his/her employee or associate, with the PDD examiner’s knowledge, shall not engage in any type of advertising which would be considered false, deceptive, or misleading

A PDD examiner shall not provide any false or misrepresented information in any of his/her written report(s) or record(s)

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner shall not omit any pertinent detail(s) from any written report or record

A PDD examiner shall not alter or cause to be altered any tracing(s) during a PDD examination in order to impeach influence the outcome of that examination

A PDD examiner shall not administer a PDD examination if he/she reasonably believes the examinee is not physically or mentally suitable for the examination

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner shall not solicit or accept fees, gratuities, or gifts which are intended or could reasonably be perceived to be intended to influence the examiner’s opinion

Fees shall not be contingent on the results of the examination

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner shall not form an opinion that is influenced by anything other than the PDD examination

No other credibility assessment method shall be included in the PDD report

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner shall not include in any examination questions that are intended to inquire into or develop information on activities or affiliations or beliefs in religion, politics, or race except when relevant

A PDD examiner who is also a mental health counselor, marriage counselor, sex offender treatment provider, and/or any similarly recognized professional shall not conduct a PDD examination on any person whom he/she is also actively counseling or treating

Summary of Practice

A PDD examiner who is also employed in a court supervision capacity such as that of a probation or parole officer shall not conduct a PDD examination on any person who is under his/her direct supervision. Because the roll of the PDD examiner is that of an independent arbiter in search of the truth, the integrity of that role is compromised when an examiner has a contemporaneous supervision responsibilities of an examinee

Summary of Practice

A polygraph examiner shall not represent that he/she has a particular academic degree unless one of the two following criteria was met;

1) The degree was awarded by an institution that is accredited to grant that degree by a national, regional, or professional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the counsel for higher education accreditation (CHEA)

2) The degree was awarded from a school, institute, or university charted outside the U.S., that is approved by the Ministry of Education or similar government agency of that country to grant the degree

Summary of Practice

If such an academic degree (i.e., earned outside the U.S.) or title is to be used in the U.S. it must be validated and recognized by a credential evaluation service that is a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services to be equivalent of a Baccalaureate or Post Baccalaureate Degree conferred by a regionally accredited college or university in the U.S.

Why Ethics The development of a cannon of consensus based

standards signifies the maturity in a specialized field of endeavor; that it’s practitioners recognize as their collective responsibility to individual and public welfare.

The consensus based standard set forth in this guide hold all PDD examiners to a code of practice that elevated the profession above personal interest; for the benefits of justice and the society it serves. Because licensing requirements of PDD examiners vary from state to state, the establishment of consensus based standards and practices is imperative.

Why Ethics?

A code of ethics is one mark of a profession.

A professional is a person who shares a common body of knowledge, a code of ethics, and a concern for his/her peers.

Ethics comprise the principles of morality, including both the science of the good and the nature of the right, and that they constitute the rules of conduct in respect to a particular class of human actions.

What is Ethics?

Ethics is the science of right moral conduct derived from an analysis of human nature by the light of reason.

Professionals are expected by the general public and by members of other professions to have high standards, to be responsible for their own colleagues and to act with integrity. They must build a tradition of acting as professionals in their own right.

Ethics and Discrimination

America is very conscious of laws and traditions regarding discrimination due to race, creed, natural origin, color, age, gender, or sexual orientation.

Polygraph examiners must set aside their own individual feelings and deal fairly with each examinee.

Polygraph Competence

A polygraph examiner can try for the wisdom to see the difference between what to accept as his/her abilities and what to refuse as beyond his/her present abilities.

Sometimes examiners deal with their personal prejudice and other limitation by denying that problems exist.

A real expert examiner knows when to ask for help and where to get it.

Competence Continued

Competence in a rapidly changing in a highly complex field demands constant upgrading of skills and knowledge. Most professions require continuing education as a condition for renewing a license or certification.

Continual training provides fresh viewpoints and improvements within the profession.

Competence Continued

Regular reading of polygraph journals and new books, attendance at conventions and workshops, and taking additional courses are some ways to keep up.

Those who feel they have nothing else to learn once they have qualified for an initial credential are a danger to the profession.

Evaluation of Polygraph Success

Sometimes the results of polygraph examination are clear, accurate, and useful, but they may also be sloppy, misleading, and invented. If the polygraph profession is to retain credibility and share useful information with one another about what works for individuals and what does not. A polygraph professional must insist on quality data and well-defined goals.

Confidentiality

The ethics of professional confidentiality bring up a host of complicated issues. The basic principle is that private information divulged by examinees in the course of a polygraph pre-test may not need to be used or repeated in any way that can be identified with the examinee.

Careful record keeping is necessary to protect the rights of examinees. Under no circumstances should a chart be doctored when it is subpoenaed.

Polygraph and the Sex Offender

In child abuse cases our natural concern is for the child and may override our awareness of the rights of the accused. It must be remembered that the presumption that one is innocent until proven guilty can easily yield to a presumption of guilt by mere accusation.

Social Contacts with Examinees

There is an ethical demand that we take a hard look at the psychological harm done to examinees when professional trust is violated.

Professional polygraph examiners must be willing to blow the whistle on a colleague, putting professional integrity above personal friendships, cowardice, or indifference.

Polygraph and the Media

Unqualified polygraph examiners may present themselves at media level as certified professionals.

Polygraph and the Community

Those professional polygraph examiners with qualified credentials and experience must share their knowledge and under-standing with others who write and pass the laws that affect our present and future.

Polygraph and Advertising

False and misleading advertising is both illegal and unethical.

Polygraph and Internal Control

A professional is supposed to be self regulating, acting from professional integrity rather than fear of prosecution or lawsuits.

Polygraph organizations have ethics committees or conduct review boards, and members are expected to inform them of unethical conduct.

This is not mere tattling or gossip but in which a profession gains respect and trust.

Polygraph and Public Speaking

If a qualified polygraph examiner is to be a speaker at a conference or seminar he/she should be notified that the presentation will be audiotaped or videotaped.

The professional has the right to know this before they agree to the engagement.

If pass-outs are expected this must be agreed prior to the engagement.

Public Speaking Continued

Professional, qualified polygraph examiners must always be conscious of the difference between speaking as individuals and speaking as representatives of polygraph.

Significance and Use

The development and practice of ethics signifies the maturity in a specialized field of endeavor, that the practitioners recognize their collective responsibility to the individual and to the public welfare.

The ASTM and State Polygraph Organizations set forth in their guides to hold a PDD examiners to a code of practice that elevates the profession above personal interests, for the benefit of justice and society.