The following guest post is by Assess Ltd, who are out training partners in Bulgaria. They deliver the highest level of polygraph training excellence and are a professional and reputable organisation with whom we have a longstanding affiliation.
Along with the growing interest towards the polygraph method and its application on a world- wide scale, there is a growing interest towards the same field in Bulgaria as well. During the last 15 years the polygraph procedure of testing has become a method which is widely used in both the government and the private sector.
Like in the private sector, some government agencies also check their job applicants and/or their employees for loyalty to the organization. Thus, their results from the polygraph examination are a part of the procedure for recruitment of personnel and the main role is prevention.
The government sector in Bulgaria needs polygraph examinations not only for checking the loyalty of employees but also for aiding the investigation of criminal cases. The polygraph examination is a method used in Bulgaria for cases of theft, robbery, homicide, rape, missing person’s case and other felonies. In this case the police and the law enforcement employees rely on the polygraph method for optimization of the process of investigation and for solving the case.
This makes the polygraph examination a useful method for criminal investigations.
There aren’t laws for the usage of the polygraph method yet in Bulgaria but during the last 15- 20 years the results from the polygraph examination are admitted by the Bulgarian court as a part of the Forensic Psychological Expertise. For the execution of such an expertise the court expert has to review all the materials for the case: data from the crime scene, witness statements, results from other expertise documents, etc. A Forensic Psychological Expertise with an included polygraph examination has never been rejected in Bulgarian court.
Regarding the usage of the method in the private sector, more and more companies – Bulgarian and foreign, are advantaging from the usefulness of the method when it comes to cases of financial or material losses where an internal investigation can easily and discreetly determine the level of involvement of the examined employees to the specific incident. This way actions which can harm the company’s reputation are avoided such as wrong convictions or leakage of information.
Once introduced as a preventive measure, the method could lower the risk of
disloyal behaviour or misconducts with a job position. The topics of examination differentiate depending on the individual needs and requirements of the organization. The most frequent topics are:
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Determining the reasons for leaving a previous workplace;
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Examining a possible criminal past; alcohol, drug or gambling addiction;
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Checking for presence of corruption practices in the past;
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Theft or misconduct with confidential information and mutual work with competing companies.
Taking into consideration the dynamic development of the polygraph examinations and their wide application in Bulgaria, it is not a surprise that indeed the only polygraph school in Europe is situated in our country, representing Peak C.A.T.C, the polygraph school of Lafayette Instrument – the leading manufacturer of polygraph instruments in the world. The school works according to strict rules for admission and training because the efficiency of the polygraph method depends on the professionalism and qualification of the expert sitting behind the polygraph instrument.
You can contact us directly or liedetectortest.org, if you are interested in training or learning more about the work which assess can conduct to help businesses.
