Polygraph Examiners Course
Course detail
2023
| Session(s) | Location | Start date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23-01 English | Ottawa | 2023-01-16 | 2023-03-24 |
| 23-02 English | Ottawa | 2023-09-11 | 2023-11-17 |
| Tuition |
|---|
| $28,700.00 |
Notes
- Accommodations are offered to course participants. Our rooms are subject to availability and the request must be indicated on the course registration form
- Meal plans are offered to course participants. The specific meal plan must be indicated on the course registration form
- Travel grant funding is available to our non-federal law enforcement agencies
Description
The Canadian Police College is the only institution in Canada where law enforcement, military, and intelligence agencies can train to become certified polygraph examiners. By asking questions about a particular issue under investigation and examining a subject's physiological reactions, a polygraph examiner can reach an opinion as to whether a subject has been truthful or deceptive. Polygraph testing is an investigative tool that is typically used during the later stages of an investigation.
Format and delivery
- Length of course
-
Three phases of the course must be completed within one year:
- the academic phase is a ten week course of theory and practice
- the internship phase is a two week period of practical application under direct supervision
- the certification phase is approximately eight months of practical application under indirect supervision.
- Class size
- maximum 14 students
- Delivery setting
- theoretical portions are offered in the classroom; practical exercises take place in a polygraph suite with polygraph equipment
Learning outcomes
- Understanding laws applicable to polygraph.
- Understanding the relationships between the Code of Ethics, Standards of Practice and By-Laws and other ethical considerations for the practice of polygraph.
- Knowledge of notable contributions to the early and contemporary history of lie detection, the evolution of polygraph instrumentation, polygraph techniques, and test data analysis; knowledge of professional associations and alternate methods of detection of deception.
- Ability to demonstrate a conceptual knowledge of sensitivity, specificity, false positive errors, false negative errors and statistical significance in the application of the concepts to diagnostic and screening tests; ability to review research articles and explain their methodological strengths and weaknesses.
- Ability to perform a proper functionality check of instruments and proper software operations; ability to perform acceptable data collection practices and use standardized annotation on polygraph examinations.
- Knowledge of at least one testing protocol shown to meet APA validation standards for each of the following applications: evidentiary, investigative, and screening.
- Ability to explain the rationale behind pre-test procedures and demonstrate the ability to conduct a free narrative, structured or semi-structured interview.
- Ability to explain the rationale behind post-test procedures, identify basic interview approaches and demonstrate the process of post-test interviews.
- Ability to explain the basic elements of human psychology and their applicability to polygraph testing.
- Understanding the cardiovascular, respiratory, central nervous, peripheral nervous, integumentary and skeletal-muscular systems, as well as pharmacology, as they relate to the polygraph data.
- Knowledge of polygraph test questions for validated polygraph techniques.
- Knowledge of the physiological response patterns used in interpretation of polygraph data, and ability to identify data suitable and not suitable for analysis; ability to use a validated scoring system.
- Ability to describe common types of countermeasure attempts and atypical physiology.
- Understanding necessary information content and presentation of test results.
- Ability to demonstrate basic proficiency in conducting examinations under field-like conditions.
Eligibility and mandatory requirements
- This course is offered to:
- members of a recognized police, military or intelligence service that have experience and a proven ability to conduct investigative interviews and/or related interviews involving human sources
- candidates belonging to an agency with a polygraph unit
- candidates that have written support from the head of the agency's polygraph unit.
- Acceptance or refusal in the course is at the discretion of the Canadian Police College.
Assessment
- Success in the course is based on participation and completion of all required assignments.
- Various evaluation methods are used, including:
- written tests/exams
- practical evaluations
- mock crime scenario testing evaluations
- real testing evaluations
- Re-testing or re-evaluation is conducted at the discretion of the course instructor.
Transfer credits
The graduates of the college's Polygraph Examiners course are eligible for credits towards the Bachelor of Arts in Policing at Wilfrid Laurier University. For more information, please refer to the Transfer credits section.
Contact
For more details or other information about the course, please email cpcregistrar@rcmp-grc.gc.ca.
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