The Use of Tactical Polygraph with Sex Offenders

• In Event: Policing Sexual Violence

Abstract

Professionals who work with sexual abusers often are faced with a significant obstacle: offenders’ failure to accurately report their histories of undetected offences, particularly hands-on crimes against children. The implications are significant and include poor risk assessment, misguided treatment planning, inadequate sentences, and insufficient supervision conditions. This problem is particularly important with child pornography offenders whose known criminality often is limited to the Internet, and who may be reluctant to admit they have engaged in the hands-on abuse of children. This session will summarize the findings from a study we conducted on an investigative method that we refer to as tactical polygraph and describes its effectiveness in identifying previously undetected sexual offending within this population.

Author

• Paul Detar, United States Marshals Service