History of the polygraph and its application in the practice of crimes discovery and investigation

The article is devoted to the study of the history of the appearance of the polygraph as a means used to detect and investigate crimes. The evolution of the use of the polygraph in the practice of police bodies is traced, starting from the very first primitive devices aimed at detecting lies in the testimony of suspects and accused, and up to more modern devices. The role of the first enthusiasts of introducing the polygraph into the practice of detecting and investigating crimes (C. Lombroso, G. Munstenberg, W. Marston, J. Larson, L. Keeler) is noted. When considering the positions of scientists of our country in this area, a difficult path of their formation is noted from the complete denial of the use of the polygraph as a reactionary bourgeois tool (in the Soviet period) to the recognition of the positive possibilities of its introduction into the practice of investigating crimes.