Organizational and legal aspects of special psycho-physiological examination via polygraph conducted with applicants to the Russian law enforcement agencies

The unsolved issues and contradictions as to both selectivity and sensitivity of test methods and validity of the employed systems of assessment of polygrams led to the description of diagnostical toolkit, organizational legal aspects of the special psycho-physiological research via polygraph within professional psychological selection of Law enforcement applicants. The authors reveal two procedural stages of the special psycho-physiological research: 1) multi-subject screening test; 2) single-subject screening tests with questions of directing lies. The article describes the procedure of pre-test interview including original acquaintance with the interviewee, the latter informed about the test procedure; discusses the risk factors revealed during the test. The article sets forth the procedures taken by the polygraph examiner during the test: installing sensors/detectors, standard instruction of the tested before the test; presenting of the initial (stimulation) test; discussing the questions of the multi-subject screening test. There are some details of methods of analyzing the test results: qualitative, integral assessment of each reaction of the registered polygraph chart; universal 3-point or perceptive assessment; traditional 7-point system of analysis; metrical assessment of polygraph chart. The authors outline the prospects of improving the special psycho-physiological research via polygraph in work with the personnel.