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At Saskatoon Police Service headquarters there is a quiet room where truth is put to the test.
What many refer to as a “lie detector” on TV and in movies is a common misconception, according to Detective Sergeant Rob Sampson with the Saskatoon police.
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A polygraph test detects dishonesty by measuring the involuntary physiological responses that happen when a person experiences stress while being deceptive. It measures heart rate, breathing patterns, sweat gland activity and movement within the body.
Sampson — one of the few polygraph examiners in the province — described the test as “more of a truth verification instrument than a lie detector.”
He explained that most of the people tested, whether for pre-employment screening of prospective police officers or investigations, are truthful and cleared by the polygraph.
About 75 per cent of the polygraph tests Sampson administers are for police employment screening. He said the process can be lengthy and can help determine whether a candidate is suitable to be hired as a police officer.
“We’re basically screening a person on their entire life and anything that they’ve done that’s noteworthy or significant that the recruiting department would want to know.”
Most of the requests for criminal or forensic polygraphs come from the service’s child abuse or adult sex crimes units, where physical evidence such as DNA and surveillance images are limited.
“You’re oftentimes relying on one person’s word of what happened versus another person’s word,” Sampson said.
Detective Sergeant Rob Sampson is one of Saskatchewan’s few polygraph examiners. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
He explained a polygraph, like anything else in life, is not 100 per cent, but the tests can be around 90 per cent accurate.
“It is an investigative tool that the police use,” Sampson said. “It’s not the be-all, end-all.”
Sampson said some people hesitate to take the test because of the accuracy rate, but noted that without it, decisions rely on an investigator’s judgment.
“Studies routinely show that despite the fact that we’re police officers and we have special training, our ability to determine whether somebody is being truthful accurately hovers around 54 per cent,” Sampson said.
Sampson said it was his first-hand experience taking a polygraph as a police applicant in the 1990s that inspired him to pursue a career as an examiner.
“Going in for my polygraph I was really in a difficult spot where I wanted to be honest,” he said. “I didn’t want to lie or keep anything out, but I also was afraid that if I talked about the things that I had done I’d be judged harshly (and) that I wouldn’t be seriously considered for this job.”
Chair used for polygraph testing by the Saskatoon Police Service. (Mia Holowaychuk/650 CKOM)
After a sleepless night before his polygraph test, Sampson said he was put at ease within minutes of meeting the examiner.
“He made me realize he was a human just like me, that people make mistakes, and he’s not there to judge me on my mistakes,” Sampson said.
“Had he done his job differently, that polygraph could have gone completely different for me and I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Sampson said.
Sampson said that experience drives his passion for the work, and his goal is to not see anyone fail, but to uncover what they are reluctant to share and help them succeed.
He said to ease anxiety a person might have about taking the test he explains how the polygraph works, the science behind it and runs through a demonstration test ahead of time.
“The biggest fear that people have is fear of the unknown,” Sampson said.
“When they do tell me things and we’re talking about sensitive areas or embarrassing aspects of their past, I’ll never give them anything that will make them feel like I’m judging them,” he said.
“I just encourage them and congratulate them on being brave enough to tell me that.”
Sampson has been a polygraph examiner for several years and said in some cases the test clears a person suspected of a crime.
He recalled a case involving a woman suspected of stealing purses and wallets from various downtown businesses and using the stolen cards on shopping sprees.
Surveillance images led officers to believe it was the woman, but Sampson said she maintained her innocence and demanded a polygraph test.
“The officers that arranged it were assuming that she was going to fail and this would just be a way to then get her to tell the truth about what happened,” he said.
“When she passed her test … there were a lot of surprised looks on their faces,” Sampson said.
He said a few months later the real suspect was caught committing similar crimes in Calgary, and police recovered stolen property from the original thefts in Saskatoon.
Sampson said police can use a polygraph test in any situation and any statements made during the interview can be admissible in court.
However, he clarified that the examiner’s opinion on the test results is not admissible in court.
“I can’t go to court and as an expert witness say that this person is guilty because they failed the polygraph test,” he said.
Sampson said if someone fails a polygraph test he will continue to interview them which oftentimes will result in the individual admitting they lied and sometimes leads to confessing a crime.
Sampson said one of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the polygraph is that “everyone fails the test” and it is a ruse the police use to trick people into confessing a crime they did not commit.
“That’s not the case at all,” Sampson said.
“We’re passionate about what we do, and our goal is one thing and one thing only and that’s the truth.”
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Sampson’s name.
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