Real Life Case Studies of Lie Detector Tests
CS-1: False Accusations of Stolen Mobile Phone in Workplace
Our client had approached us and sounded very distressed when calling our support team. She had unfortunately been entangled in false accusations that she had stolen a mobile phone from a work colleague. We had advised her that we can conduct the false accusation lie detector test and that she should check first whether it was viable for her both financially and in terms of potentially resolving the wider problem.
Her name and reputation had been severely tarnished within her workplace, and her wider network of friends. We explained that on completion of the test and on the basis that she passes it, we would provide her with a report which she could use to end the allegations.
She was happy to accept the proposal and get the relevant assistance. As we divulged into our clients case, it appeared that there had been Whatsapp (messaging) groups set up, specifically as a result of accusations that could not be substantiated and she had also been informed that remarks about her were made on Facebook. We reassured our client that we could assist and provide her with the Private Lie Detector Test.
Our client passed the test and then decided that she would present the report back at her place of work and also to her circle of friends to help justify that she had not taken the phone and that the allegations were indeed false.
Lies often travel faster than the truth. In our clients case as with many people we speak to, social media plays a part in amplifying the stress caused. We are able to assist with such matters in a professional and appropriate way and would recommend that if you are suffering similar accusations that you take part in a no obligation consultation.
We will always assist where possible to help you clear your name and where it is your word against someone else the lie detector test lends itself to helping quash the allegations before they spread through your network.
CS-2: Is your Theft Relative?
Our first contact with our client was via email. She asked a number of questions about the company, also the details of the examiners qualifications and experience who would be potentially conducting a test if she decided to go ahead. Those details were quickly supplied and a few days later she rang to make an appointment.
The client is in her 70’s and had been self-isolating from the start of the recent pandemic.
She explained that 15 years earlier her own daughter had gone through a particularly nasty divorce, fuelled on both sides by a long history of drug abuse. After the divorce the daughter, who at the time lived in Liverpool, initially cared for her own daughter by herself. After some months struggling with both debt and continued substance misuse, both mother and daughter moved to live with the client in the hope of a new start.
Initially things went well with the new family unit. Our client had her daughter back under her roof where she could help and support her, the bonus being that she also had her lovely granddaughter that she could help nurture.
Sadly, the daughter soon began to slip into her old ways, making contact with her old social circle and resuming her drug addiction. Within 12 months of moving from Liverpool to Manchester, the daughter sadly died of an overdose, leaving the granddaughter in the full time care of our client.
Our client said that having the full time responsibility for her granddaughter no doubt helped her through the trauma of losing her own daughter. She focused all her attention on the little girl and watched her blossom both academically and as a person.
Teenage years brought on a whole new challenge with the granddaughter, who began to hang around with the wrong crowd. Our client was constantly worried that her granddaughter may follow in her mother’s drug abusing footsteps. These worries seemed found less, when the granddaughter was accepted into the university of Manchester and appeared committed to a bright future.
When the University closed during the pandemic lock-down, the granddaughter returned to her grandmothers home in Manchester. She very quickly took over responsibility for all the household shopping duties, because she was a student she relied on her grandmother paying. To facilitate this, the grandmother handed over her debit card and her pin number when ever the granddaughter went shopping. Our client often would tell her granddaughter to take out small amounts of cash to use as her own pocket money.
The client was not a wealthy woman but she did have savings, all held in her current account. Her call to us was prompted after a Bank Statement arrived at her home showing over £2000 had been taken in the sums of £400 a time, all in the period of time the granddaughter had been in possession of the bank card.
She has questioned the granddaughter and her biggest fear was that the money was being used for drugs, but all she received was denials. They reached the agreement that the matter would be resolved by a polygraph test.
The granddaughter attended our Manchester office where a test was conducted which revealed deception, supporting the suspicion that the girl had stolen from her grandmother. When the client was informed, she told us that on returning home from the test, the girl had burst into tears and admitted taking the money for her and her friends to buy cocaine. To the clients eternal credit, she stated that she would be supporting her granddaughter through rehab and as far as she was concerned the matter was now closed.
CS-3: Holiday Flirting or Sexual Contact?
With the holiday season almost over we are getting increased contact from couples want to know if their partner has been faithful during their vacation. Sun, sand, sea, music, alcohol and males and females wearing little or nothing can be a recipe for a wonderful holiday but the inhibitions can also be lowered and partners can feel very insecure about what on the surface appears to be trivial to the other.
Mason and Holly were looking forward to 14 days of relaxation in Malaga. They had a list of places of interest to visit and recommendations from friends and family as to where to dine. Mason made the booking for them both to undergo a polygraph examination following the holiday.
Here Mason explains his concerns. “Holly and I have been together for nearly five years and have lived together for the past three. Our jobs in the city (London) are full on and stress is an accepted part of the job. Working at my desk all day, over the years I must admit I have put on considerable weight. Holly works in the same company and she too had added a couple of dress sizes over the years.
Honestly, that didn’t bother me one bit. She was beautiful when I met her and that hasn’t changed because of a few extra pounds. We have always laughed together and after I moved in, we did most things together but as I said, our jobs are full on, so most evenings we would just crash out at home watching TV. We booked our holiday early to get the best deal, probably about 9 or 10 months in advance.
As usual Holly took charge of the plans and of course that included sorting out what she would wear on holiday. One evening she was in tears because she had found out all of her holiday clothing from last year and the realisation none of the clothing, including swimwear, would no longer fit really depressed her. I tried to reassure her but she was so upset and we ended up arguing about our weight.
The next day Holly announced that she was changing her diet, joining a Gym and enrolling on Yoga classes. I said I would join with her, except for the yoga but she insisted that she was going to do this alone and encouraged me instead to join a gym near to my office. I was full of good intentions. I paid the annual membership fee upfront to get the maximum discount and over the next few weeks I went three times.
I kept trying to get motivated but really, it wasn’t for me. Meanwhile Holly was really doing well. Over the months she lost weight and she was really pleased that she had toned up. Of course that meant a new wardrobe for our holiday. She had lost three dress sizes and looked incredible. When we arrived at our hotel I couldn’t help noticing that she was getting a lot of admiring glances.
I suppose it was my paranoia but around the pool in her bikini it seemed as everyone wanted to say hello to her and she was off for hours some days chatting at the bar with other holiday makers, mostly men and or going to the hotel gym with a group of other women she had made friends with. I eventually got so jealous that we had a massive argument and she walked off, staying all night in one of her female friends’ apartments or so she said. I got absolutely blotto on Rum and Coke and not the kind you find in a bottle and the next morning I woke up in our room with another couple we had met and the sister of the man from that couple.
I honestly don’t think I “did” anything but when Holly came back and found the four of us asleep on the same bed she went bananas. Eventually the others left and Holly and I spent the remainder of the holiday with her sleeping in the bed and me on the sofa. We have talked it through and we decided that a Polygraph test would help us come to some closure. She wanted to have one too because I had suggested that she needed to explain who exactly she had spent the night with.
Both Mason and Holly attended our office and were tested on whether they had any sexual contact with anyone other than their partner whilst on holiday. Holly passed the examination. Unfortunately Mason did not. Initially he contested the result of his test but two days after he actually telephoned to apologise and admitted having what he called “revenge sex” having felt Holly was off for the night with some unknown partner. Apparently Mason has now started going to the gym regularly because he has also found out he is going to be a Dad.
We are grateful to our clients for allowing us to publish their story and in the interest of client confidentiality we have used pseudo names.
CS-4: Digging Too Deep or Not Deep Enough?
The Lock down period caused a spike in the number of clients contacting us about suspicions they have that their partner is conducting an affair. In this article I have detailed a recent booking. The following names have been changed to protect the clients identity.
Hazel is in the midst of the storm on a daily basis, working for the #NHS in #Manchester, she saw the effects of the virus every day. As she said, “I left the house every day hoping that the systems of work we have adopted, coupled with the PPE, would protect me and my family. Every night when I returned I would park up a few streets away from my home to compose myself, have a little cry and then straighten my makeup before driving back home with a brave face”.
David, her partner, normally worked in an office at #Liverpool in the City centre, but the office had been placed on lockdown and he was now working from home on reduced hours. Hazel described her partner as always being supportive and attentive but at the same time, independent, with his own hobbies and social circle, which mainly revolved around his office colleagues.
At the outset of the lockdown the couple agreed that he would self-isolate to reduce the risk of either of them bringing the virus into the family group and for the first three weeks they had stuck to that agreement. However, in week three David purchased a bicycle from the local Manchester cycle shop together with a full set of Lycra cycling clothing and began going for daily exercise. Hazel understood that he needed to get outdoors as he had often complained about “going stir crazy” being on his own most of the day.
About a week prior to her calling us, Hazel had returned home to find that David was out on a cycle ride. She called his mobile phone only to hear it ringing upstairs, where she found the phone on the floor near a pile of David’s cloths, where he had obviously changed into his cycling gear. Just as she located the phone, David appeared at the top of the stairs with what Hazel described as a frightened look on his face. He said Hello and quickly picked up the mobile and disappeared into the bathroom saying he was going to shower. “David’s reaction to seeing me with his phone and the way he snatched it off me and disappeared into the bathroom, just seemed wrong to me” said Hazel “that is when I started to suspect that he was hiding something from me”.
She continued “David sleeps like a log so, and I know this is so wrong, I decided to pretend to sleep and waited for him to fall off. I then picked up his mobile phone only to see that all his call history had been deleted together with the internet browsing history. David uses his mobile for work calls and when I have been on a late shift, I have regularly witnessed him making or taking dozens of calls a day. I didn’t say anything to him about it but decided to check his phone again the next night only to find that he had changed his screen lock code, so I was unable to access it”. “I know this sounds crazy” Hazel said, “but I even checked his cycling clothing and it smelt of a women’s perfume. I do the washing and there is nothing I use that smells anything like the perfume but each time he leaves the clothing to be washed the same perfume smell is there”.
“I have challenged David, he says I am overworked and imagining things, but we have been together a long time and I know him, he is definitely acting strangely. We have argued although I have never mentioned that I have looked at his phone or about the perfume smell, I have accused him of having an affair. Just before I called you, I saw a scratch mark on his back, when I walked in on him unexpectedly in the shower. He tried to turn and hide it, of that I am sure, the arguments started again and he said he would take a lie detector test, so that is why I am ringing you”
Hazel and David have made a booking with www.liedetectortest.org for a test to be conducted, when we hope to be able to resolve their situation by conducting a test.
CS-5: Private Theft Resolved
Our Durham client called to book a polygraph examination (lie detector test) for four friends and a family member who have all worked together in the Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead area for many years as Groundworkers. The Durham client had started his company with the same four men working for him for the past 10 years and the men were a tight knit group, working in Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead for some of the largest construction companies in the area.
The working relationship had evolved over the years to a strong friendship, with the men socialising together in Newcastle upon Tyne and some of them even moved home from the Gateshead area to Durham, so that the team could be together more often.
The winter period is often as slow time for business and the company, all four men and the client, would regularly leave Durham for warmer climates and holiday together in Asia. The client said that the success of the Durham business was in no small measure down to the reliability, integrity and professionalism of his staff and he considered each one of them as a treasured personal friend.
Our client had recently started a relationship with a new partner and had decided not to travel abroad with his friends this year but instead he left Durham for a more local flight to Ireland, where his new partner lived. Being security conscious he asked one of his friends to visit his home every morning and evening to open and close the curtains, to give the impression that the property was still occupied. On the Saturday morning, four days into his holiday and the day before his planned return to Durham, the client received a telephone call from his friend to say that the house had been burgled. Knowing that he had some cash savings hidden in his Durham home together with two Rolex watches, he asked the friend to check in his hiding places to make sure the money and watches were still there. The friend stayed on the line while he followed the client’s instructions to locate his hiding places and it was then that the friend confirmed that both the money and watches had been stolen.
The client caught the next flight home to Durham. On arrival back at his Durham home the client examined every door and window that gave access to his property and confirmed that there was no sign of a forced entry. Clearly whoever had entered his Durham home had done so with a key. The offender had appeared to have also gone straight to the client’s hiding places for both the money and the watches and as far as they could see there had been no attempt to search anywhere else or indeed take any other property, some of which were quite expensive items, left at the Durham property in different rooms. His friend who had been looking after the house was with him when he checked for signs of a forced entry and was actually physically sick, stressing over being the obvious suspect, he vomited and pleaded with his friend to believe him, that he had not stolen his property.
The client spent the next few days mulling over his situation. Clearly the Durham home had not been burgled in the traditional sense of the word, by force, but his friend and co-worker who would normally have been beyond suspicion was the obvious suspect as he had the only spare key. In addition the four friends had over the years often been present when he had taken money from his savings at home to go out on an evening socialising with them and they had also seen his hiding place for his Rolex watches. The one thing that he could not rule out was that one of the group had copied his keys.
There had been plenty of opportunities during their workdays for one of them to access his keys from the company vehicle they all shared when they were on sites or after an evening’s socialising when they would consume vast amounts of alcohol and sometimes cocaine and cannabis as well. The client summoned all four friends to the company offices in Newcastle upon Tyne and they talked through the options. One thing that they all agreed on was that it could not possibly be one of them that would steal from their employer and friend. However they also agreed that there seemed to be no other possibilities that an outsider had carried out the burglary.
The strength of the bond between these friends was testament to their decision to all agree to take a lie detector test in an effort to confirm their innocence. One of the group was aware that their brother in law had recently engaged our company to conduct a lie detector test on an unrelated matter at our office at our Doxford International Business Park (4 Admiral Way, Sunderland, SR33XW). The clients Newcastle upon Tyne business had recently completed a contract on that site so he was keen not to use that location because he did not want anyone to connect him and his business to the test being held at that location. We were able to offer the client an alternative location at The Axis Building Maingate, Kingsway, North Gateshead,NE11 0NQ, but again work had been carried out at that Gateshead location as well.
It was eventually agreed that the lie detector tests would be carried out at his home, where he had suitable rooms where the examinations could be carried out without interruption and in total confidentiality. Each of the friends in turn attended the Durham home and it was noticeable how each one spoke of their loyalty to their boss and confirmed that they could not believe that one of them had committed the crime.
One after another the men sat the lie detector test, each one confirming their denials of being involved in the burglary and theft. One after another they passed the lie detector test. The Durham client was apprised of the results as we walked around round the exterior of his home, examining the windows and doors for signs of intrusion. Whilst he was relieved that his friends were now ruled out of suspicion, he was at a loss to understand how the offender had gained entry to his home.
The client resolved to conduct further tests on members of his family, who in the past have had access to his keys. This decision was reversed after he contacted us the following day to say that the watches had been returned together with the majority of the money. A nephew had been identified as a suspect and when his parents searched his bedroom they found the remaining property hidden in his wardrobe. Our Durham client had the good grace to admit that he had suspected that the lie detector tests had missed the opportunity of identifying the offender but instead he now knew that the tests had simply found the truth. He could trust his friends, if not all of his family.
CS-6: Business Theft in Birmingham
A Pizza The Truth!
Over the past few weeks I have been working with a client from Birmingham, who owns a chain of Pizza take-away shops in Solihull, Chelmsley Wood, Stechford, Acocks Green, Moseley, Bourneville, Harbourne and Northfield and two fish and chips shops in Quinton and the City centre.
The client had immigrated to this country twenty years ago, setting up his first take-away in Chelmsley Wood. This apparently coincided with the Pizza take away meal becoming extremely popular and business was so good that in the second year he opened three further shops in Stechford, Moseley and Harbourne suburbs’ of Birmingham.
By year three, he opened two more take-away shops in the Birmingham suburbs’ of Acocks Green and Northfield followed the following year by pizza take-away shops in Bournville and two fish and chip shops, one in the city centre of Birmingham and one in the Birmingham suburb of Quinton.
The businesses were all running profitably and he now had a number of managers and staff working for his company. The client had contacted us because the cash flow of his business seemed to have reduced steadily over the months, whilst the stock used in sales hadstayed relatively the same. Most if not all of the shop sales were cash transactions, which obviously left the opportunity for staff to steal from the till or simply pocket the money without recording the sale on the tills.
His issue was that with over 100 full and part time staff, he could not afford to have all members polygraphed. Over the following weeks I visited the shops in Solihull, Chelmseley Wood, Stechford, Acocks Green and Moseley, so I could meet the staff and understand how the sales and stock processes worked.
The clients brother ran the remaining businesses in Bourneville, Moseley, Harbourne and the city centre of Birmingham, so in company with him, I visited the remaining premises in Birmingham. It was clear that the business was essentially run on trust. The client had originally employed family members to staff up his businesses but over the years they had been replaced by managers and part time workers not related to the owner.
It was agreed that the starting point for the polygraph investigation would be examining the managers first. Six managers attended the polygraph offices over three days. One manager failed to attend and gave his notice by phone to the owner and during that telephone call he made the comment “there were more than me involved and you don’t want to know the answer”.
The managers of the shops in Moseley, Solihull, Bournville and Harbourne all passed the polygraph examinations. The two remaining who between them managed the shops in Chelmsley Wood, Stechford, Acocks Green and Birmingham city centre both failed the polygraph examination.
The client was present throughout the time the tests were conducted and was immediately informed of the results for each examinee. He obviously had his own suspicions, that he had not shared with us prior to the examinations and when he was told that two of the managers had failed, he went to speak to them in person.
I understand from the feedback that the client gave us following those meetings, that both managers have kept their jobs and we will be invited back annually to conduct monitoring tests on their honesty.
This again proves the importance of both pre-employment testing and regular monitoring to maintain the security and profitability of businesses.
CS-7: Lie Detector Test in Hull Helps Distressed Client
During the recent storms our Hull based client had sat in his home watching the flood waters rise. Eventually, the water began seeping into his lounge and it was not long before every room in his bungalow was knee deep in water and sewage. The property was his pride and joy and held many memories of his deceased wife and their life together since their retirement and relocation from their previous home, a Post Office in Bradford.
The client struggled to stack furniture and possessions in every room in an attempt to stop them being fouled by the filthy liquid swirling around his legs as he waded through each room. He was particularly careful to protect his deceased wife’s jewellery box and her ashes urn. The amount of damage caused by the flood made it impossible for the client to remain in his Hull property, so he was forced to move out and stay with relatives. Two of whom had helped stack some of the items out of reach of the water before driving him to his temporary home back in Bradford .
The flood waters eventually subsided and the client was keen to return to his Hull home. The tide marks on the interior walls and the squelching of sodden carpet underfoot was the only evidence that the flood left at the scene. Slowly over the next few days the client removed all of the furniture from the home, some went straight into a skip having been contaminated by the flood waters and those which had been stacked out of reach were piled into a removals van to be taken into storage.
The insurers sent their representative to assess the claim and it was then that the client realised that he would be out of his home for some time. Because of all the confusion and mad dash to protect as many belongings as he could at the time of the flood, the client was unable to give a full account of what was lost or damaged so it was agreed that the client would visit the storage facility and log all of his possessions and then produce a list of the items that were missing or subsequently disposed of through contamination.
At the storage unit the client went through his possessions one at a time, often evoking memories of the past and treasured moments with his wife. It was during this process that the client found his wife’s jewellery box. He opened it to hear the clockwork box play a small tune as a ballerina turned around and around on her pointed shoes and then he looked inside and the box was empty.
The client was absolutely devastated. In desperation he searched every item in the lock up knowing all along that he would have never removed the jewellery from the box but desperate to find them just the same. Over the next week there were many conversations in the extended family about what could have happened to the jewellery and in an effort to clear their names, the two family members who had helped to stack the furniture suggested that they should be polygraphed to clear them of any suspicion.
Both relatives attended our Hull office with the client. He was apologetic to his relatives but they were all in agreement that the “rumour factory” had started and fingers were being pointed at them as the only other people having contact with the bungalow and unhindered access to all of the rooms.
Both relatives, a husband and wife, were insistent that they had or would never steal from the client and in fact had never seen either the jewellery box or its contents, ever.
Our client was pleased and relieved when both the husband and wife passed the polygraph examination as no deception indicated. It hadn’t of course solved the mystery but it had absolved the relatives involved.
CS-8: Precious Engagement Ring
Our Bristol client wanted to know what questions could be asked to resolve a family split. She had worked for many years as a mobile carer in Bristol and when her Mother in Law was diagnosed with Cancer she was determined that she would be cared for at home by family members rather than by domiciliary care providers. I have done their job for years she said. You just can’t give any real level of care or interaction with a client when you have only got a 20 minute period allocated to their appointment. I was determined she wasn’t going to be treated like that, so I agreed to give up my job and become the full time day carer. She had always been like a second mom to me and after her husband died, only a week after retiring from his job repairing roads for Bristol Council, I had visited every day during my care round and it was me she asked to go with her when she had her diagnosis.
My Sister in Law and I had always got on but we are completely different. I am either working or at home with the family and she likes the nightlife. That caused a little friction when we first agreed to care for her mother as she didn’t want to break into her evenings out in Bristol night clubs, to cover night shifts. She also spends money like water and is always selling things, even the children’s Christmas presents, just so she can have a night out. I looked after my mother in law for five months before she became too weak and was admitted to a Bristol hospice, where she died two weeks later.
One of my most treasured possessions was my mother in laws engagement ring. When my husband and I decided to get married his parents were overjoyed and as we both had quite poorly paid jobs my boyfriend couldn’t afford an engagement ring. His mom and dad wouldn’t have it. They insisted that we have her engagement ring and when we eventually got married we matched the wedding ring band so they looked a pair. My sister in law has always resented the fact we were given the ring.
Over Christmas we tried to bury old arguments and invited my sister in law to a local Bristol restaurant. We had a really nice evening and afterwards we all came back to our home. I washed up during the evening and as I always do, I took off my rings and put them on the window ledge. I forgot to put them back on and it wasn’t until the next morning that I went to put them on and found them missing.
There have been arguments ever since and I am sure I know who has taken them, I want to know if my sister in law has stolen my wedding and engagement rings. She has agreed to take a test if I pay on the condition that I take a test as well to prove I am not lying about the theft, just to cause more family troubles. So, I have agreed and I have a list of things to ask her about it. The client produced an A4 sheet of paper covered in questions, totalling 18 in all. Had the sister said this, had she done that and on and on they went, completely losing focus on the central issue.
This often happens with disputes between parties, emotions take over and lists of totally unimportant issues get raised as being relevant when all they actually do is fail to address the central issue. Fortunately, both of our clients were prepared to listen and by guided by our experienced examiners when they came into our Bristol office at the Regus Castlemead building, Lower Castle Street, Bristol, BS13AG, for their individual examinations.
Our instructing client’s sister was examined first and denied taking the rings, she failed the test and her only comment was that she expected that, no denial, just simple acceptance that the truth had been exposed. Our client was being examined at the same time by a second examiner and not surprisingly, knowing the first result, she passed the polygraph examination.
Focusing on the core issue and formulating the correct questions to resolve the matter are not always easy for a client to achieve on their own but they are vitally important to achieve a successful lie detector test. If you are considering taking a lie detector test then please feel free to call us and our team of fully qualified examiners can advise you on how to resolve your issues by the correct question formulation and answer any other questions you may have. Our advice is free.
CS-9: Helping Handler at Crufts International Dog Show
The annual Crufts International Dog Show held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham is one of the most prestigious events in the dog show calendar, attracting over 20,000 entries and thousands of dog loving visitors to see the very best examples of individual dog breeds being put through their paces and judged by invited experts from around the globe.
Our clients request to take a polygraph test based on her participation in this year’s show evoked for me, over 50 years of memories. I can still recall the first time I visited Crufts, over 50 years ago. In those days the show was held in Olympia in London and I remember travelling from our home in the Midlands in the back of an old Anglia van, with my elder brother driving and arriving there at 1am just so we could queue and guarantee a seat around the obedience ring. How strange that behaviour seems today.
As soon as the entrance doors were opened there was a great stampede of visitors just like the January Sales people would race to the Obedience ring to grab one of the few seats arranged around the arena, so you could watch the obedience competition all day. That was what you did in those days. There was no internet to book your tickets in advance, no mobile phone app to guide your journey and although the show was televised most people didn’t yet have colour TV’s. Now, of course, with the advance in technology and a greater affluent society you can book in advance, get your sat-nav to take you straight to the door or watch the highlights in glorious colour on your digital TV, as many thousands worldwide now do.
In essence the Crufts Dog Show is run over four days with a day for each of the four breed categories of dog, Toy and Utility, Gundogs, Working and Pastoral and finally Terrier and Hound which culminates on the final day with a dog being awarded “Best in Show” arguably the highest accolade in the dog breeders world. And at the same time the obedience competition, scruffs judging and a huge array of literally everything to do with dogs is on display for sale by hundreds of stall holders.
Since the competition moved from Olympia to the NEC the show has grown in both size and the amount of foreign exhibitors and visitors who now attend year on year. With the winners, their owners and breeders gaining international recognition and increasing the value of the individual dog and their eventual offspring, serious amounts of money are now involved. Our client was a professional dog handler and had travelled to our country with two dogs entered into the show by their owners. She had been at the show for the whole four days and as a handler with an international reputation herself, she met many old friends and exhibitors for whom she had exhibited dogs over the years both here and abroad.
The clients owners had rightly great expectations of their beloved dogs and had spent considerable amounts of money on the hire of the handler, flights and accommodation for both her and the dogs and as the dogs were already international champions they had high hopes of winning. The client explained what is obvious to any individual. The winners on the day are those chosen in the opinion of one person and one person only, the judge in the exhibition ring. And whilst that judgement can be hard to accept when one is emotionally invested in the dogs, it is a fact.
The clients first dog had to be withdrawn because she came into season between leaving her home country and arriving in the U.K. The second dog although being presented in its finest condition was unfortunately not chosen in the final round.
When the client informed the dog’s owners she was faced with a barrage of abuse and allegations that she had been bribed to mishandle the dogs, intentionally failing to exhibit them at their best. Friends of the owners who attended the show had reported back that the client had been seen taking cash payments from other exhibitors.
Professional handlers are employed for many reasons and it is common practice for them to handle more than one dog for more than one owner at the same show and as the client explained, this is exactly what happened at Crufts. Although her and her assistant had travelled at her clients cost, she was a free agent to accept other work at the same venue. On this occasion she had been approached by two elderly past clients who had asked her to exhibit their dogs who were not in the same breed category of her clients’ animals. She had accepted and been paid in cash, which she openly received in the main hall of the arena in front of many witnesses.
However, the handlers’ initial client would not accept this explanation and she wanted to prove them wrong. In her own country the polygraph was commonly used and she knew that her clients had resolved issues before using the polygraph and would be able to accept the outcome as proof of her honesty and credibility as her reputation was understandably important to her in her profession. I had been identified as being an acceptable choice as an examiner by her clients after they researched my qualifications and experience on the American Polygraph Association and U.K. Polygraph Association websites and viewed blogs on our own webpages.
The examination was commenced and our client I am pleased to say passed her polygraph test confirming both her honesty and integrity.
A case of “barking up the wrong tree?”
CS- 10: Helping Couple with Relationship Test before Valentines Day
I was inspired to write this post as I walked through the City Centre of Cardiff on my way to the office to conduct a polygraph examination. The Valentine ’s Day reminders were in nearly every store window and with Infidelity examinations being one of the most popular test subjects, It bought the days appointment for an Infidelity test into a real life situation. As we approach the annual Valentine’s celebrations, businesses around the country are gearing up to supply all of the trappings that the festivities have evolved to include. Greetings Card shops, Jewellery stores, florists, lingerie shops and restaurants are all looking forward to a roaring trade.
The first recorded celebration of Valentine’s Day was in the year 496 AD. The celebration was named as such by the Pope Gelasius and is thought to have evolved from the Roman festival of Lupercalia, which celebrated the first coming of spring, including fertility rites and the pairing off of women with men by lottery. The anniversary in modern times is now when one partner expresses their love for the other or an anonymous suitor sends a romantic verse to the one they desire, has developed into a multi-million business, facilitating the expression of love.
It can come as no surprise that another anniversary, celebrated on the 13th February and known as Mistress Day has also been identified as an annual occurrence. What that says about society today, I will leave for you to decide but what it does clearly evidence, is the fact that infidelity in relationships is rife and now with its own dedicated day of celebration, there are no signs of that changing.
I met with our client couple at our offices at Brunel House, Cardiff, CF240EB. Both the client who I will call Sandra and her partner, who I will call David, have been living together in Cardiff, for almost five years. Sandra was a full time mum to their three year old son and a part-time teacher in a local Cardiff school. David was a Head of Year at the same Cardiff school. Sandra was the first to start disclosing what the issues were that had led her to ask her partner to take a lie detector test. She stated that after the birth of her child she had suffered severely from Post Natal Depression, which had remained with her for most of the first three years of her son’s life. She was very honest and said that she knew that the depression had taken a toll on her relationship with her partner and that during that period she wanted very little to do with him or the baby on occasions and she knew he had felt unwanted and excluded from her world at the time.
It was only two years previously that she felt confident enough to return to her former Cardiff school and commence teaching part-time. There had been a considerable turnover of teaching staff in the time she had been away and as she wasn’t married to her partner and therefore their surnames were not the same, most of the new teachers did not know of her relationship with the schools head of year.
She had only been back at the Cardiff school a matter of weeks when one afternoon in a staff-room break, she was joined by two newly qualified teachers, one of whom was talking about her past relationship with the head of year. Sandra just sat there listening and exchanging forced nods and smiles as the teacher continued her story which basically branded the head of year as a serial adulterer who prayed on newly qualified female staff.
Feeling her world was collapsing around her, she continued through the school day in a state of shock, urging each minute to pass as quickly as it could so she could leave the school and escape to be alone. Later the same day David returned home and was met by a completely distraught Sandra who, through tears and sobbing accused David of lying to her. She wouldn’t tell him what he was supposed to have lied about, instead she just pleaded for him to tell her the truth.
David took over the story at this point as Sandra was clearly upset at reliving the events. David said that he had left the Cardiff school at the normal time but as he walked to the car park to meet Sandra for a lift home he found her car wasn’t there. He had phoned her but her mobile had been switched off and he was forced take a local Cardiff taxi home. He was concerned that he couldn’t contact Sandra but as soon as he walked in the house she started crying and screaming at him to tell her the truth but she wouldn’t tell him what he was supposed to have done.
The couple spit up on that night. Sandra packed Davids cases and put them on the footpath. David continued to plead his innocence but Sandra demanded that he leave and he eventually capitulated to defuse the situation. Since that evening the couple had regular contact so that David could see his son. Over the next ten or twelve weeks the couple had started talking to each other again, not just to arrange parental access but about the different things that couples with a house have to discuss. David continued to deny that he had done anything wrong and after one more conversation on the topic, still ignorant of what he had allegedly done, Sandra told him the story she had overheard from the newly qualified teacher.
David restrained a laugh when he related this part of the story and then went on to explain that there was more than one head of year at the Cardiff school and one of those was well known for chasing the new female staff. I simply couldn’t believe that I had been kicked out of my house for something I have never done, kept away from my son and partner, it was absolutely crazy. We sat down and I told Sandra that I had never been unfaithful to her and never would; she agreed to accept that on condition I pass a polygraph test and that why we are here.
I conducted a test on David and he was clearly having problems when asked if he had ever had sexual intercourse with anyone other than his present partner during their relationship. When I asked if there was something he was not telling me, he eventually admitted having a one night relationship with a student during the time he was in his last year as a student at Cardiff University. Sandra was called back into our Cardiff office and David and I explained what had happened so far, his problem during the test and his additional disclosure. Sandra agreed that this one incident should be excluded from the test although she was openly sceptical of Davids motives.
The test questions were amended to exclude this relationship, which was in the same week that he first met Sandra and David passed the test. He told me afterwards that his suitcases were in his car ready for him to go home.
CS-11: Infidelity, Insecurity And Then There Were Two
Our first examination of the week was in our Cheadle office near Manchester. The client had travelled from Hulme and attended with her friend. The issue to be resolved was one of an allegation of infidelity. The clients’ husband had moved out of the matrimonial home in Hulme to a flat in Rusholme, Manchester following a number of arguments with his wife over his suspicions that she was having an affair with a colleague at work.
The client attended with a list of questions her husband had prepared and clearly passed the test. The following day we were contacted by the husband who suspected his wife had sent a friend to sit the test in her place. We informed him that we had verified his wife’s identity prior to conducting the test but even this did not reassure him. When he made the call to us his wife was with him and following some discussion it was agreed that we would meet the couple at our Manchester office and identify his wife as the examinee we tested.
The couple duly attended the Manchester office accompanied by another woman, who was later identified as being the examinees sister. The husband left the two women in the car park and came into the office alone. He then asked the examiner to look out of the window and see if he could identify either of the women as the person who sat the examination. The examiner easily identified his wife and both she and her sister were invited into the office. During a further conversation the husband stated that he did not believe that the polygraph test was reliable, a friend of his from Bradford had taken a test with another company some months before and had told him that he had passed but had actually lied and effectively got away with it.
The upshot of the conversation was that the wife suggested he take a polygraph test, which he did there and then. What we were not aware of was the fact the husband had admitted adultery with a former work colleague which occurred on one occasion ten years previous in Wilmslow, Essex. The husband disclosed the one occasion of infidelity during the pre-test interview and the examination was conducted. He clearly failed the test and when he was informed of the result he admitted that there had been two affairs in his marriage, both disclosed to his wife but that he had held one admission back in the pre-test to check on the validity of the test. Needless to say, he now accepted the result of his wife’s test.
CS- 12: Theft by Employee at Restaurant Chain
When we received a call from a very well-known restaurant the last thing we thought of was that they would be asking us to conduct a series of polygraph tests on their employees. A very wealthy client had lost his wallet in the restaurant and as usual on his visits he had been the last to leave and hadn’t noticed his missing wallet until he returned home. The following morning he had telephoned the restaurant expecting them to have found it but after a search was made they were unable to locate it.
The customer was not happy and in fact it was he who suggested that the staff were polygraph tested. We attended the venue the same day and five staff members were tested, all of whom passed the polygraph test. Two staff members refused to be tested and one of those two walked out of his employment. The owner was not impressed. For some inexplicable reason he had decided that one of the staff who had taken the test was lying and was as guilty as hell!
We took the owner through each and every test result showing him how the employees had reacted and how they had passed, yet he was still not convinced. It was only as we were leaving that a waiter mentioned changing the CCTV recorder to his boss. We all stopped mid exit, turned, looked at each other and almost like a comedy movie, ran back upstairs following the client to retrieve the CCTV. We very quickly fast forwarded to the period when the diner had left the restaurant, minutes later the employee who walked out of his job, could be seen clearing the table and oops, he dropped something but unfortunately for him, he could very clearly be seen picking up a rather fat wallet and stuffing it in his apron pocket.
We have a saying “the polygraph works in mysterious ways”. Sometimes it tells you more about the people who refuse to take a test, than it does those who do.
Bon appetite.
CS- 13: Truth Prevails with Infidelity Matter
When our client called she described herself as being “between a rock and a hard place”. She worked in Manchester City Centre as a cleaner and was not a high wage earner but she intended to sort out her life with the results of a polygraph test and was committed to booking a test.
Her employment in Manchester City Centre involved her mixing with a diverse group of work colleagues and employees of the premises in which she cleaned and this had led to her present partner accusing her of having sexual encounters with one or more of them. There were a number of “alarm bells” ringing in my ears as I listened to the client’s story.
Our company prides itself on the high standard of client care we provide and indeed, should be provided by any professional polygraph examiner. That care starts at the very beginning of our relationship with the client, which is often their initial telephone call to enquire about the service or to book an appointment. It is extremely important that sufficient details are obtained from the prospective client about the issue they would want to resolve using the polygraph.
When you make that initial contact with our company you speak directly with a fully qualified examiner who will evaluate your situation having asked for full disclosure of the entire scenario and any outside issues that may affect the outcome or suitability of the examinee to take the test. This is critical to the outcome of a test procedure and is why we do not use third party call centres or agencies to handle our client enquiries.
We also consider from the information given, if the examinee is being mentally abused (gas lighted etc) or is at risk of being physically abused. We include the warning in our terms and conditions that any suspicion of any form of abuse will be reported to the appropriate authorities.
Our Manchester client had given me reason to be concerned that she was being abused, manipulated by her partner. As the story slowly unfolded she explained that she had left her family in Leeds and moved to Manchester to work. She moved from Leeds to be away from her dominating father, who had once forced her to sit in Leeds City Centre begging, so he could have the money to take to the pub.
She had met her partner at a Christmas company social event when both of their employers booked the same festive venue. He came from Stockport, Manchester and was a manager in a recruitment business. As the evening went on the couple exchanged mobile numbers and at the end of the evening they parted with a kiss.
The couple met two over the Christmas holiday and then again in early January when for the first time in her life she had intercourse. She fell in love with him, even accepting he was a married man. Over the next few weeks he became more demanding sexually and critical and controlling of whom she spoke to on social media and at work and regularly accusing her of having sexual contact with other men.
The Manchester client assured me that she was not going to continue the relationship, which she knew from the start (in hind sight) was wrong to commence and was controlling and toxic. She wanted the pleasure of handing the polygraph report to him confirming her fidelity before ending the relationship once and for all.
Our Manchester client attended our Manchester office and clearly passed the examination, confirming her earlier statement. Clearly confident throughout and she couldn’t wait to hand the report to her now to be ex-partner.
CS- 14: Granddaugher Steaming Money
It is always nice to receive confirmation of our test results, even when the result was adjudicated as being Deceptive. We received a telephone call from an examinee that we had tested in Huyton near Liverpool some three weeks earlier. She had agreed to sit the examination because her Grandmother suspected her of stealing money from her home.
The client, the Grandmother, lived with her husband in the Woolton area of Liverpool. He had been admitted to hospital and then moved into Step-down care in a Belle Vale Care Home. The examinee was concerned for her Grandmother now living alone for the first time and began visiting her more regularly, cleaning in the places her Grandmother was now too frail to reach and generally keeping her company.
A Social Worker had called on the Grandmother to make an assessment of the home before her husband could be discharged from care and during that conversation the subject of savings came up. When the Social Worker left, the Grandmother went to her secret place and looked for a sum of money she knew the couple kept in cash at the house. To her horror she was unable to find it and over the next few days she basically searched every nook and cranny, looking for the cash. Eventually she gave up and during one of her visits to the Liverpool Belle View Care Home she decided to tell her husband that the money had disappeared or more directly, someone had stolen it.
The husband was far from pleased but told her to forget about it and that he would sort it out when he was discharged back to his home in Woolton. However, the Grandmother could not get it off her mind and eventually arrived on the examinees doorstep in Huyton, accusing her of stealing the money. In a mixture of desperation and disbelief the examinee suggested that she take a lie detector test to prove her innocence. The Grandmother agreed and the test was booked.
During the pre-test interview the importance of disclosing every detail to the examiner prior to the test being conducted is always stressed to any examinee. The granddaughter was adamant that she had not taken the savings and presented as she would pass the test. The polygraph charts (data) totally disagreed with the clients confident persona and she clearly failed the test.
During the post- test interview she stated that she had forgotten to admit that many years earlier she had actually taken a £2 coin from her grandparents piggy bank and protested that was the reason she had failed the test. The Grandmother would have none of her denials or excuses and ushered her out of the office. So to receive a call from the examinee, a) to apologise for not being totally truthful in the examination and b) to inform us that she was in fact proven innocent by her own Grandfather when he returned home was excellent confirmation of the original test results. Her Grandfather had apparently removed the savings when he became aware that he needed hospitalisation.
He didn’t want the savings declared to the authorities because he had heard stories of couples with savings been forced to pay for their aftercare and thinking his wife would admit the existence of the money to Social Services he had found another place to keep it. Having told his wife he would sort it out on his discharge and he hadn’t known that the polygraph test had been arranged.
The examinee accepted the examination results were accurate but had also been extremely upset to think her family would no longer trust her and informed us as she was bothered about our opinion of someone who appeared to have stolen from the family. Being a Liverpool girl she even saw the funny side of the situation when describing her Grandmothers reaction when the husband told her the money was safe. Apparently her response was unprintable!
CS-15: Before Marriage Test
Anthony and Mark were talking about getting married and during that conversation they agreed that they wanted a “clean start” so that no past jalousies or current suspicions would fester and later destroy their love and trust for each other.
The couple contacted our company and having explained their position, they wanted some form of assurance that a polygraph test would resolve the matter, once and for all. In essence their concerns were infidelity related, so the polygraph procedure was explained in detail and several questions later Marks only reservation was that his past love life would have an influence of his reactions.
Anthony had been openly gay all of his adult life, whereas Mark had hidden his sexual preferences and had married and fathered two children. Anthony was clear that all of his partners were known to Mark, who had been given a detailed history of Anthony’s relationships. Mark however had never had a public relationship other than with Anthony and most of his partners had been casual acquaintances.
The test was booked and both men attended the pre-test interview. Mark had been so worried that he would forget a particular encounter with a casual partner that he had drawn up a list of liaisons covering 12 A4 pages. We conducted the pre-test procedure and calmed Marks anxieties he requested to “get it over” first and was subsequently tested and passed with no deception indicated.
Anthony simply flew through the test, clearly being honest in all of his answers. When we gave them the test results Anthony remarked “I knew he would pass, he spent hours writing and rewriting his list so he would be sure that he had left nothing out.
The couple are to marry in December and they are both wearing White!
CS-16: Private Security Firm
The private security industry employs thousands of staff who protect our shops, steward at venues and provide mobile patrols and a host of other supporting activities. Our client, the owner of one of these businesses had worked for many years to build his business and it reputation. He had obtained all of the necessary registrations and qualifications that meant his business was now considered a serious player in the market.
During one of the company reviews it was decided to target high worth individual clients and knowing that the industry were always fighting an image whereby if any item went missing, the first suspect was the security officer, they included in their staff employment risk assessment, the need to be polygraphed.
We conducted 12 tests on existing employees who had applied for the position. All but two passed. One made an admission that he had taken supplies from a builders yard he was guarding, the other gave no response at all.
The client has engaged us since to conduct further tests as his business grows.
A person can work long and hard to build a good reputation, one bad employee can take seconds to destroy it.
CS – 17: Theft of Hired Plants
Greys on the north bank of the River Thames, one of Thurrocks traditional parishes was the location of our first test today. The client had travelled from Basildon, where they owned a company supplying the building trades of Essex. The client had suffered a large theft of hired plant which was to be used on a construction site in Chelmsford and suspected one of his staff as being responsible. The examinee had recently moved to the company and he was keen to clear his name. We started off by asking the examinee if he had taken the property, if he had arranged with someone else to take the property or if he knew for sure who had taken the property. The examinee showed as being deceptive on the last question.
When he was presented with the results and after quite a long post-test interview, the examinee stated that he had overheard another employee talking on his mobile phone discussing where the plant would be prior to its delivery on site at Chelmsford. He had not mentioned it to the owner when the theft was discovered because the staff member concerned was known to be a friend of the owner and played golf with him regularly.
The examinee actually thought that the owner and the employee had arranged the theft with the intention of claiming on the insurance. The client was briefed on the results of the test and immediately returned to his office in Basildon where he apparently confronted his friend the employee with the disclosure from the test. Initially the employee denied the accusation but when he was asked to hand over his company mobile phone (as we had suggested to him in our debriefing) he broke down emotionally and admitted that he had conspired with some local travellers to steal the plant because he was in debt and was desperate. The client called to inform us of the result, more I think to confirm his integrity as he had been most offended by the suggestion he was involved in some type of insurance scam.
The Croydon borough of Broad Green was our next stop on Tuesday where again it was a theft allegation that need to be resolved. This time the business was one that had been handed down through generations. The owner was proud of his family business, cleaning windows, which had been started by his grandfather who had cleaning rounds in Fairfield and Waddon boroughs of Croydon. Over the years the family had grown the business and now covered all of the Croydon boroughs. As family members joined the business spread and now impressively covered a number of the Greater London towns including Bromley, Barking, Romford and Enfield.
The main payment method by the homeowners was to pay the window cleaner in cash and over the previous two months, three window cleaners with rounds in Romford, Enfield and Barking had been mugged and the days takings stolen. All three employees that had reported being mugged attended the Croydon office and each one in turn passed the polygraph test. The owner was actually delighted and was now able to move forward. He has also looking into our suggestion of taking mobile payments instead of cash.
CS – 18: Security Breach for High-level Client
Our client is definitely what you would call a “high value individual” operating a multi-national group of business and enjoying all of the trappings. His home was to say the least, palatial, with its own helicopter pad, indoor gym and swimming pool and extensive grounds including tennis courts.
When I arrived at the address I was immediately aware of the CCTV camera mounted upon one of the stone pillars which in turn supported a very impressive set of iron gates. I pulled up alongside the intercom fixed into the adjacent stone pillar and was about to speak into it when a voice echoed from within, welcoming me by name and inviting me to drive through the gateway. The iron gates slowly opened and I followed the driveway up to the impressive portcullis entrance and in to an inner courtyard. This place was seriously impressive.
I was met in the courtyard by an immaculately suited man, my first impression of which was he was ex-military and he obviously enjoyed the gym from the way he stood and filled the chest and arms of the suit. He directed me where to park and then accompanied me to the main entrance. Stood in the doorway was a woman who identified herself as the clients Personal Assistant.
The client had flown to Essex earlier that morning and although no apology was proffered for his absence his P.A. was extremely professional, quite clearly in charge in his absence and had prepared a full briefing file. She explained that the client had full time personal security wherever he travels and a permanent team of 6 security staff at his home. She stated that there had been certain concerns lately about confidentiality of their staff and wanted three particular security members to take a polygraph test.
When I asked why only three of the security staff were to be tested she detailed how professional she had been in checking on suspicions. The security team were professionals and highly respected by their employer who had recruited the team from a mixture of former UK, US, French and South African government security and services personnel. They had worked for their employer for many years.
Unfortunately, I am unable to reveal what the security breach of confidentiality was or how the suspects were narrowed down to just three of the team but what I can say is that the P.A. had done her homework and presented a very forceful case for suspecting one or all of the trio. It was interesting that all of the three employees had experience of being polygraph tested in the past, either by their government agency or services employers and they were at least outwardly, exhibiting support and trust in the polygraph process.
These guys were cut from the same cloth, regardless of their nationality. Each one was respectful with that air of confidence one has when you know your own capabilities, Interesting subjects to test. The P.A. waited patiently for the final analysis of all three examinations and seemed strangely accepting of the outcome. All three men passed the test.
I had in all honesty expected at least one of the examinees to fail the test. I had seen the briefing files on all three and had a long briefing with the P.A. but that outcome didn’t accord with my suspicions. I went into meticulous detail with the P.A. to explain the validity of the result but she offered no argument and was actually extremely grateful for my work. As we walked to the front door we were met again by the security officer who initially introduced me to her. Her parting words were that she would call and book the further tests once she had consulted with her employer.
A few days went by and I had almost given up on hearing anymore when the P.A. called again. Not to book a further test but to express her gratitude for an excellent job. I was a little surprised at her reaction until she announced that the confidentiality leak had been resolved, with one of the three who had not been tested having resigned his position. All of which supports two things that I was taught during my initial training all those years ago;
The polygraph moves in mysterious ways (when they run from the test there is always a reason). Trust your charts (trust the data that you gather and analyse).
CS – 19: Woman Finds Out the Truth After Safeguarding
We were contacted late last week by a lady in here early 30’s from Grays in Essex as she had concerns about her current partner. The general consensus was that he was very popular within her local community and on the face of it and certainly in a social sense could do no wrong as he was much loved in the eyes of their close knit group of friends. During the initial phone based consultation, she had informed us rumours had started to emerge about his conduct before they had met and as he was a bit of a ‘Jack the lad’ type, they had included that he had been involved with criminal gangs and also that he had quite a dark side with a potential history of violence. The gentleman in question had no criminal record and as our client had young children she just wanted to be sure that she was with a fit and proper person to be around them and this was why she had made the initial call.
As with all phone based consultations that we conduct, Our client’s matter was treated with the strict confidence and conducted by an experienced and skilled person who could understand and dissect her problems. We write this blog post with her permission and hope that it may resonate with others who may be in the same or similar circumstance. So back to the matter at hand, the client informed us that they had been dating for the past 6 months and she was considering them moving in together but with the nature of the concerns she had there were safeguarding issues which needed to be some how resolved before she could move forward. She wanted to approach his about doing a lie detector test before they moved in just so she could be clear on the rumours about the violence as he had categorically denied it when they had tried to discuss the matter.
We suggested that as we are objective that she should not make any presumptions i.e. that if he refuses doing the test he is not necessarily guilty and if he agrees to doing the test it is not an assumption he must be telling the truth. We are client focused and her best interests were central to our approach. She went away for a few days to consider what we had put to her and also to approach her partner about doing the test. When she returned to us later in the week she informed us that her partner had agreed to do the test and had outwardly rejected all of the rumours as being false. He had also got very upset and she said he had acted really out character in terms of what she had experienced with him previously.
As we analysed her problems further it appeared that he had tried to turn the matter back on her by firing wild accusation to deflect the rumours, was generally defensive and was ‘gas lighting’ to evoke a reaction from her. She said that this had only reinforced her resolve to find out more about who she is really with and understand the basis of their relationship. After some assistance from us in terms of how best to approach her partner about doing the test, she came forward and scheduled the test as he had finally agreed that he would do it.
On the day of the lie detector test, our polygraph examiner had arrived early to meet with our client so that we could go through the kind of questions she wanted to put forward and also to reassure her that she was in safe hands. She initially had a face to face consultation with us at the office in Chelmsford whilst her partner waited in reception and we went through the questions. There was no issue from our perspective if the examinee (Her partner) knew the questions beforehand as it does not change the effectiveness of the test but she had wanted some extra assistance and we were happy to provide so that she could make sure they were worded effectively. Her core issue was her concern about the rumours about his alleged violent past, so the relevant questions were formulated around her suspicions of his violent history.
The examinee was then invited into the examination room where during the pre-test interview, each question was discussed in detail so that every term or word used in the questions was not only fully understood but the definition of each term was agreed to mean the same to the examiner as it did to the examinee. This is a critical phase of the polygraph examination and is all important in obtaining a verified outcome to the test procedure.
On completion, her partner was taken to a separate room to commence with the polygraph test. Our client waited for him and on completion of the test was informed that her partner had indeed failed the test. She visibly upset but said that she is happy that she can move forward knowing the truth. She actually contacted us back later that week to inform us that the Lie Detector Test had been really helpful as after the test it had become clear to her that her partner indeed had a darker side to their personality and she believed they had a narcissistic personality. She also conformed that her biggest priority was her children and she was happy that she knew the truth.
In conclusion, although the lie detector test cannot promise to reveal the truth that you wish to hear… It can and will assist if you need to know for sure about someone who could potentially act as a direct threat to your well-being or that of your loved ones. Although, her partner had never been traced or had a criminal record there was an underlying problem which had she failed to take action and arrange a lie detector test, it could have resulted in more serious repercussions for her and her family. If you are looking to discuss potentially organising a test then please feel free to get in touch. We are always client focused and strictly confidential.
CS- 20: A Client’s Account On How The Lie Detector Test Saved His Marriage
The following blog was penned by one of our clients who has chosen to remain anonymous but wanted to share how the lie detector saved his marriage. He had contacted us again some time after the test and wanted to share their experience with others to hopefully help anyone else that was in the same boat. As client confidentiality is at the forefront of our approach, we agreed to share their story but to keep the author private.
I am writing to express my gratitude to Mike Rumble and the LieDetectorTest.org team as the experience was truly life changing and I think had a hesitated and not taken the action that it may have ended my marriage. My problems first started occurring about 4 years ago, my marriage to my dear wife had up until then been a relatively smooth one. We have young children so most of our time was focused around them and we probably did not get to spend enough time alone as we would have liked but apart from that the marriage was a reasonably healthy one.
In 2018, I started a new job with a law firm in Birmingham and as I wanted to impress the company with my attitude and professionalism I started coming in early and being one of if not the last one to leave the office on any given day. The new income was good and although it mean’t my wife was juggling more of the child care with her part time job it was something we had discussed before hand as we really needed the increase in income to help pay our mortgage and household bills. In my first year at the firm, I rarely took holidays and became quite engrossed in the whole company experience.
Later that year, an attractive eastern european woman had joined the office team and began working quite closley with me. The relationship was entirely professional to begin with and she just like I had done, was working late and putting in the extra hours to impress in her early stages of employment. There were several conferences we needed to attend as a team over the year and my wife had not raised an eyelid to me attending them as she knew that I was very driven in this new job and that I was trying to progress our family.
The Eastern European woman was in her mid 20’s and I being in my mid 40’s although a little flattered by the attention, did not really think anything of the extra attention she often paid to me other than it simply being kind of friendly. On one particular occasion, we were both in attendance at a conference in Nottingham and after the conference had finished, our team had found a pub in the vicinity and we had had some drinks together. Some of the team then left back for the hotel, whilst others including myself and the lady in question had stayed on and moved to a trendier wine bare in the main square.
My wife had text me that night to check in with me and I had told her that I was with the group and took a selfie and sent it to her. The picture had included the eastern European lady and a couple of others in the team. Later than night as I went back to the hotel with the rest of the group we had kind of ended up as the last two left and so I had walked down the hotel corridor with her on the way to my room. As she approached her room she invited me for another drink and I blankly refused her as I could sense where this was leading and the potential risks to my marriage.
The next morning, she was very off with me because of the rejection and over the next few weeks she barely spoke to me in the office. I think in rejecting her, I may have damaged her ego or some what surprised her. We did not speak again for 3 months or so and she later left the company. In around March of 2019, my wife received a message via Facebook with from this lady who stated that your husband had sex with me and had shared details of the conference which we had both attended.
I understand now in hindsight, that she may have actually been deeply disturbed or suffering some psychological problems as this was a bolt out of the blue for me and what it did to my marriage for the next 6 months was nothing short of a disaster. My wife had messaged her back to ask who this is and she had exchanged a further message with my wife but I was not to know any of this. Later that week my wife interrogated me about what happened at that conference and who I was with. I was not being secretive but did not really disclose anyone in particular and this brought a seed of doubt into my wife’s thoughts.
We had a very difficult period in our marriage after this as my wife was no longer trusting of me and at the same time I was feeling like I could not do anything to justify that I was not guilty as I had no contact or any information about where the lady in question was now. I had began searching online and looked for marriage therapists amongst other things but because of our breakdown in communication, my wife was unwilling to attend as she also felt rightfully she had done nothing wrong.
During my search for a solution, I came across a blog by Mike Rumble which outlined the kind of questions you can ask someone in what was know as a sexual contact test. This had peaked my interest and so I then reached out and contacted www.liedetectortest.org. The intial phone consultation was very concise and professional and as someone under considerable stress, I really felt that I was put to ease. I could tell that many people most come to this point as a last resort but they listened carefully to my case and advised that the sexual contact test would be suitable for my problem.
I then went back and spoke to my wife and she agreed that we needed to somehow get this resolved or look at an alternative solution as it was tearing us apart. She asked if she could speak to the company to verify who they are and also to find out more about what I was going to part-take in. I provided the details and gave consent to Mike and the team to speak to my wife as they would not discuss the case without any given authority as in line with their data policies.
Moving forward, on the day of the test my wife attended with me and we arranged it at the office in Birmingham while we had child care in place. We were greeted at reception and duly taken to a controlled room. The examiner then spent extensive time going over our issue and then we discussed the questions during the interview part. My wife was then asked to leave the room and I was alone with the examiner.
I took a deep breath as I was connected to the equipment and told myself that I am telling the truth so have nothing to fear. I answered the questions clearly and truthfully and later that day was informed that I had passed the test as no deception had been indicated. My wife was present and I shared the results with her and felt immediately after that she finally opened up to me again. We could now discuss what did and what didn’t happen clearly. When I told her that the lady was only briefly at the firm and I had a feeling she had some kind of psychological problems… this time she accepted my truths.
If, like me, you are feeling trapped or isolated by some kind of false accusation then I would definitely recommend that you speak to the lie detector team. They conduct a thorough and professional process in verifying the truth and they treat you with respect and keep your matters private at all times. I cannot thank you enough for helping us move on in our journey together.
CS – 21: Saving a Marriage
The following blog was penned by one of our clients who has chosen to remain anonymous but wanted to share how the lie detector saved his marriage. He had contacted us again some time after the test and wanted to share their experience with others to hopefully help anyone else that was in the same boat. As client confidentiality is at the forefront of our approach, we agreed to share their story but to keep the author private.
I am writing to express my gratitude to Mike Rumble and the LieDetectorTest.org team as the experience was truly life changing and I think had a hesitated and not taken the action that it may have ended my marriage. My problems first started occurring about 4 years ago, my marriage to my dear wife had up until then been a relatively smooth one. We have young children so most of our time was focused around them and we probably did not get to spend enough time alone as we would have liked but apart from that the marriage was a reasonably healthy one.
In 2018, I started a new job with a law firm in Birmingham and as I wanted to impress the company with my attitude and professionalism I started coming in early and being one of if not the last one to leave the office on any given day. The new income was good and although it mean’t my wife was juggling more of the child care with her part time job it was something we had discussed before hand as we really needed the increase in income to help pay our mortgage and household bills. In my first year at the firm, I rarely took holidays and became quite engrossed in the whole company experience.
Later that year, an attractive eastern european woman had joined the office team and began working quite closley with me. The relationship was entirely professional to begin with and she just like I had done, was working late and putting in the extra hours to impress in her early stages of employment. There were several conferences we needed to attend as a team over the year and my wife had not raised an eyelid to me attending them as she knew that I was very driven in this new job and that I was trying to progress our family.
The Eastern European woman was in her mid 20’s and I being in my mid 40’s although a little flattered by the attention, did not really think anything of the extra attention she often paid to me other than it simply being kind of friendly. On one particular occasion, we were both in attendance at a conference in Nottingham and after the conference had finished, our team had found a pub in the vicinity and we had had some drinks together. Some of the team then left back for the hotel, whilst others including myself and the lady in question had stayed on and moved to a trendier wine bare in the main square.
My wife had text me that night to check in with me and I had told her that I was with the group and took a selfie and sent it to her. The picture had included the eastern European lady and a couple of others in the team. Later than night as I went back to the hotel with the rest of the group we had kind of ended up as the last two left and so I had walked down the hotel corridor with her on the way to my room. As she approached her room she invited me for another drink and I blankly refused her as I could sense where this was leading and the potential risks to my marriage.
The next morning, she was very off with me because of the rejection and over the next few weeks she barely spoke to me in the office. I think in rejecting her, I may have damaged her ego or some what surprised her. We did not speak again for 3 months or so and she later left the company. In around March of 2019, my wife received a message via Facebook with from this lady who stated that your husband had sex with me and had shared details of the conference which we had both attended.
I understand now in hindsight, that she may have actually been deeply disturbed or suffering some psychological problems as this was a bolt out of the blue for me and what it did to my marriage for the next 6 months was nothing short of a disaster. My wife had messaged her back to ask who this is and she had exchanged a further message with my wife but I was not to know any of this. Later that week my wife interrogated me about what happened at that conference and who I was with. I was not being secretive but did not really disclose anyone in particular and this brought a seed of doubt into my wife’s thoughts.
We had a very difficult period in our marriage after this as my wife was no longer trusting of me and at the same time I was feeling like I could not do anything to justify that I was not guilty as I had no contact or any information about where the lady in question was now. I had began searching online and looked for marriage therapists amongst other things but because of our breakdown in communication, my wife was unwilling to attend as she also felt rightfully she had done nothing wrong.
During my search for a solution, I came across a blog by Mike Rumble which outlined the kind of questions you can ask someone in what was know as a sexual contact test. This had peaked my interest and so I then reached out and contacted www.liedetectortest.org. The intial phone consultation was very concise and professional and as someone under considerable stress, I really felt that I was put to ease. I could tell that many people most come to this point as a last resort but they listened carefully to my case and advised that the sexual contact test would be suitable for my problem.
I then went back and spoke to my wife and she agreed that we needed to somehow get this resolved or look at an alternative solution as it was tearing us apart. She asked if she could speak to the company to verify who they are and also to find out more about what I was going to part-take in. I provided the details and gave consent to Mike and the team to speak to my wife as they would not discuss the case without any given authority as in line with their data policies.
Moving forward, on the day of the test my wife attended with me and we arranged it at the office in Birmingham while we had child care in place. We were greeted at reception and duly taken to a controlled room. The examiner then spent extensive time going over our issue and then we discussed the questions during the interview part. My wife was then asked to leave the room and I was alone with the examiner.
I took a deep breath as I was connected to the equipment and told myself that I am telling the truth so have nothing to fear. I answered the questions clearly and truthfully and later that day was informed that I had passed the test as no deception had been indicated. My wife was present and I shared the results with her and felt immediately after that she finally opened up to me again. We could now discuss what did and what didn’t happen clearly. When I told her that the lady was only briefly at the firm and I had a feeling she had some kind of psychological problems… this time she accepted my truths.
If, like me, you are feeling trapped or isolated by some kind of false accusation then I would definitely recommend that you speak to the lie detector team. They conduct a thorough and professional process in verifying the truth and they treat you with respect and keep your matters private at all times. I cannot thank you enough for helping us move on in our journey together.
CS – 22: Theft Case in Local Parcel Delivery Firm
Our client was the owner of a local parcel delivery firm which he had started some 15 years earlier building the business from one man with a van to now employing 12 delivery drivers and 3 administration staff.
The company had long term contracts with High Street names and until six months ago everything was fine. Around that time the company started receiving complaints about items not being delivered. They conducted a process audit and confirmed the items had been received by them but certain high value electrical items that should have been delivered were missing from their warehouse.
The company had already paid for a private detective agency to follow their curriers and check that deliveries were being made and had also installed covert CCTV in the warehouse but nothing untoward was observed. Yet, over the weeks the theft of items continued and the client was in real jeopardy of losing major contracts.
We were instructed to conduct polygraph examinations on all of the staff and everyone passed. The owner was mystified and somewhat disappointed with the result, having been convinced that it must be an inside job. We reviewed each pre-test interview, every polygraph chart and every post-test interview and we were confident in our results. It was then that one of our team, who had worked on a similar case abroad, suggested that the management team, the owner and his son, the only ones above suspicion, should be asked to take a polygraph.
At first the client was stunned that we should suggest such a thing but he eventually agreed. The client passed his test. The son, who had supervised the deliveries and the installation of the CCTV left the company the same day. There have been no further thefts reported since.
CS – 23: Identification of a Thief
Whilst 2018 ended with the successful identification of a thief in a test conducted in our Birmingham office, 2019 and started on a sadder note.
Birmingham people are known for their big hearts and the tests we conducted in the first week of January were paid for by friends and neighbours of our client.
We were contacted to conduct three individual examinations as a result of a heartless burglary at the clients’ home on Christmas Eve. Our client was a single mother of two children under the age of 8. Her family had gathered together for the Christmas celebrations with members travelling from Coventry, Hull and Liverpool to celebrate at their parents’ home in Harbourne. Over the years the sons, daughters and associated relatives had moved away from the Stechford original family home but they had always kept up with the tradition of meeting up over Christmas. At 6pm on Christmas Eve our client locked her home and walked with her children less than 20 meters to her parents’ home to join the family festivities. The evening apparently always started the same, with the adults discussing the years’ results for their beloved City Football team.
During the discussion the client left to return to her house to collect a City scarf, exchanging friendly football related insults with three neighbours, all of whom were supporters of the other team, Aston Villa, as she returned to the party. Two hours later she again returned home this time with her children, only to find that her home had been burgled. The heartless offenders had torn open all of the children’s Christmas presents and even trod on several presents smashing the contents as they searched for something to steal.
Even a signed photograph of the City idol, Trevor Francis hanging on the wall in the hallway had been smashed. Rumours in the tight knit neighbourhood soon pointed the finger at the three who had exchanged the friendly football insults earlier in the evening as being the only ones that would know that the Birmingham clients’ home was unoccupied that evening. Some in the local community challenged the men, all of who denied any involvement and agreed to take a Lie detector test to prove their innocence but at the same time declining to pay for the privilege.
We subsequently conducted a lie detector test on each of the suspects and at least from their point of view, it was worth it, as all three men clearly passed the examinations. The client was clearly disappointed in the results but accepted them with dignity. A position that was to pay dividends some days later when she was informed by the police that a suspect, unconnected to the examinees, had been arrested committing a burglary in a nearby street who had admitted the burglary at her home. The day after our test Santa caught up with the clients’ children when late in the evening he posted an envelope containing £200 of gift vouchers for a local children’s toy store.
CS – 24: Sexual Harassment
Our client was in the first year of her employment and had been looking forward to her new career as an architect. She had been made very welcome in the company and everything was going smoothly until the firms Christmas Party. During the party as normal, large quantities of alcohol and high spirits was the order of the evening.
Everyone was having fun but as the evening progressed a male manager started to become “over friendly” paying disrespectful sexual compliments on the clients appearance and figure. She politely moved away but he had stalked her as the evening progressed and at one point, cornered her in a corridor, tried to kiss her and ran his hand up her leg. She pushed him away and left the function. She decided not to complain about the harassment or assault in the belief that the matter would be forgotten. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
Over the following weeks and months the same manager had made implied career threats if “anyone mentioned the Christmas Party business” they would be “out the door”. The client believed that if she left the firm and applied to other companies she would be labelled a trouble maker, that’s if she got an interview. The manager continued to make her feel uncomfortable. In front of colleagues he would be complimentary of her work, taking the opportunity to touch her on the pretext of a supportive hug or a hand on her hip. When they were alone, he never missed an opportunity to lean over her as she sat at her desk on the pretext of examining her work.
At this point, the client stopped her description of events. She paused and then explained her last statement wasn’t exactly truthful. The manager touched her regularly, at every opportunity but that wasn’t the worst part she explained. The worst part is the apprehension whenever he was near. Regardless if he came close or not the thought was always there. Is he going to try again, will he take this opportunity and could she move or leave the room before he made contact. The job that she had looked so forward to had now become a daily trial. In May she was so exhausted by it all that she went off sick but not wanting the dreaded “stress” word on her attendance record, she reported ill with flu.
It was whilst she was off sick that she decided to report the manager for harassment. On her return to work she visited the HR department and made a formal complaint. She was moved to another line manager and the offending manager was interviewed about his actions. The complaint boiled down to her word against his, with him denying any inappropriate behaviour and complaining of the amount of time he had spent mentoring her, as she was finding the work more difficult than her CV had indicated.
The end result was, other than being supervised by a new manager, nothing changed.
Her work was scrutinised more, to support her of course. But the snide comments continued, as well as the threats about her career. The client took and passed her test, confirming the managers’ actions and threats. Armed with the report she again approached the HR department and made a further complaint. The response was completely different on this occasion. Firstly they called our company to seek information and verification of the test. Initially they were sceptical and frankly, still finding the level of evidence against the manager as one against one. Following a very constructive conversation I was able to suggest a method of obtaining supportive evidence which they later implemented and four days after the test the manager was recorded on audio/video in the clients’ office making derogatory remarks about her complaint and the future consequences for her.
The manager has since left the company. He was offered a polygraph test but refused. He did not challenge the evidence.
CS – 25: Proving your Innocence
Being questioned by loved ones or work peers when suspicion is raised and placed on you in any circumstance can be difficult to handle. When our clients contact us to discuss such matters in most cases they arrive to us as a last resort. What we find in these cases is a simple correlation that most people are being accused with any substantiated evidence.
A recent example is of a client who was accused of stealing property which belonged to another employee at work. The client said that there was never any criminal or disciplinary processes which took place at work. However, the accusation had spread through the work place and had made her experience at work very difficult as there was a constant gossip and damage being done to her reputation.
On arriving for the test, our client had brought a list with her of questions relating to the accusations and we were able to formulate this into a written statement which she could use to counter the claims being made by colleagues. On completion of the pre-test interview, we conducted the polygraph element of the test where she read the statement and we were able to verify her comments as being truthful. We then provided her with a fully verified report which she was able to present back at her workplace and quash the rumours.
In this example, it is clear that the client was able to resolve the issue but she had suffered prolonged depression as a result of not knowing how to handle the pressure and the she believed that her name and reputation had been tarnished and although now repairable that the damage had already been done. What we would suggest is to always seek advice earlier rather than later as gossip and lies travel fast where as getting to the truth in a matter can some what prolong the pain if not addressed as early as possible.
We are always able to provide hassle free and no obligation advice and our support team through their extensive experience in handling many false accusation claims can always provide a supportive and empathetic outlook to the issue at hand. We hope you feel safer in the knowledge that there are ways such as Lie Detector Testing to prove your innocence and move on in your life and although you might feel desperate there is always light at the end of the tunnel. Never be afraid to ask for help.
CS – 26: Relationship Case Resolved
Portsmouth has always been a busy area for our examiners and last week we were contacted by a client who had served in the Services in Portsmouth for almost 30 years and needed to move forward to the next phase of his life after recently retiring. The client and his wife had lived in Portsmouth for most of his service and they were particularly pleased and somewhat surprised that we were able to offer an office location in the heart of Portsmouth, at the prestigious 1000, Lakeside in Portsmouth’s North Harbour.
The couple were met on arrival by our examiner Karl Sheridan. Karl is a very experienced investigator and in his long career he has attended numerous Police and Home Office approved training courses in the very latest interview techniques. He has a reputation for his personable open approach to communicating with our clients, helping them understand the polygraph procedure, its benefits and limitations. At the same time, he has an analytical and meticulous approach to the detail of the situation under examination. Many clients have posted glowing reviews about how he not only conducted the examination in a very professional manner but did so in a caring non-judgemental way.
During their initial meeting the client explained how the couple had first met when he and a group of fellow Navy ratings gate-crashed an Emergency Services Disco, held not too far from where our Portsmouth office now stood. The client and his wife to be met at the Bar and immediately started a conversation about how cheeky the sailors were to invade the venue. She was a trainee nurse at a local Portsmouth Hospital at the time and as the night came to a close and the traditional slow songs rang out, the client approached her again and stole the last dance. The word stole, was aptly chosen as just as he walked over to her he saw a tall good looking man heading in the same direction. The clients stealth paid off and he got the girl but in a funny turn of fate, the tall good looking man, a young local Police Officer became lifelong friends with the couple, even acting as Best Man at their wedding.
Not unlike many sailors, the client spent most of his 30 years’ service at sea with only short periods back at home in Portsmouth. As the years past he found it more and more difficult to leave Portsmouth Harbour as his family grew from one small baby waving him off with Mother, to two boys and girl. The clients’ wife held the family together during his absence, balancing being a mother with a part time nursing career and continual studying so that she could progress in her profession as the children got older. She too was about to retire from the Portsmouth Hospital NHS having achieved the position of Nursing Sister specialising in Coronary Care. She was equally keen to move onto the next phase of her life.
Meanwhile, their Best Man had progressed through the ranks of the Police Service, moving between the uniformed local Portsmouth Police to working in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Over the years the client, his wife and the Best Man and his wife took holidays together and their children became lifelong friends. Each attended family celebrations on birthdays, anniversaries and whenever the best man was promoted to the next rank. The client was often grateful for the Police Officers help when family issues arose whilst he was away at sea. It had been the Police Officer who rushed the clients’ wife into the Maternity Ward on each of the three occasions she gave birth, with his wife remaining to look after the younger siblings.
Together with his wife, the Police Officer was also the father figure that attended the School plays and Christmas Services, took the clients son to football training and taught him to swim. Knowing they were all in a position to retirement around the same time, the two couples had been planning their futures. All three of them were now in a position to retire on a reasonable pension, yet were young enough to want another challenge balanced with time to enjoy life. They had more or less agreed that they would go into business together, using part of their pensions to purchase Bed and Breakfast in Portsmouth.
It was at the Best Mans retirement party that the client, having consumed quite a lot of alcohol, accused his wife of having an affair with the Best Man and casting suspicion on the paternity of one or more of his children. The Police Officer initially laughed off the comment, taking it as a joke but as the client continued making his drunken allegations the officer and his wife realised that the client was actually being serious and the retirement party ended with both couples terminating a lifelong friendship. Some months had now passed and it was the client’s wife who instigated contact again, at first with the officer’s wife. These women had shared confidences in the past and supported each other through their pregnancies, when the children were ill and all of the other challenges and issues a mother has to face when they are alone bringing up young children. The officer’s wife had also been supported by her friend on many similar occasions as her husband, the Police Officer often being away working long hours on different crimes as his career progressed. She had even shared the fact that she and her husband had almost split up after she discovered he was having an affair with a junior female officer some two years before his retirement.
Karl wanted to know exactly what had caused the client to suspect his former friend, who until the night of the officer’s retirement party had been as close as a brother and stand-in father to his children. My wife hadn’t told me about our friend’s affair with the junior officer but it made sense when I found out sometime later. About the same time as the affair was happening my wife’s attitude to him noticeably changed and it was then that I couldn’t quite figure out why. When I did find out about the affair, I got it into my head that my wife’s change in how she related to him was because she was jealous and then one thought led to another and kept going around and around in my head. Most of the time I could settle the thoughts and reasoned that there was absolutely no way the two of them would have had affair but then the thoughts would come back again and again.
It was actually the police officer who suggested that we all took a polygraph test. Just prior to his retirement he had been working with a new unit of officers tasked with conducting lie detector tests on sex offenders and he had seen some excellent results supported by admissions. He had even offered to pay for both couples to take a test individually. Both the client’s wife and the retired police officer were tested by Karl for Infidelity. The officer’s prior affair with the junior officer was excluded from the test questions and he passed his test. The client’s wife also clearly passed the infidelity questions. And as for the client, he was massively relieved if not somewhat embarrassed and happily accepted the outcomes. The couples left to celebrate and continue their plans to work together in retirement at their new Portsmouth B & B.
CS – 27: Theft Case Resolved
A middle aged couple were asked by the parents of the female to ‘store’ some money at the home address with a view to using the money to pay for funerals of the parents when that time came. The money was contained within a small safe which itself was placed in a cardboard box which in turn was taped completely to seal it. Mention was made over a number of years as to the
amount of money in the safe.
These amounts varied greatly from £90k to £50K. The husband, a respectable hard working gentleman, was tempted many times to take the money and set up a business to provide for his children. His intention was always to put the money back once his business prospered. Eventually after 4 years of temptation he opened the package to find a mere few thousand pounds which would barely cover two funerals. He knew at that moment that he had made a big mistake. He used the money to pay for a family holiday and worried himself that he now had to somehow repay the money and try to hide the fact that he had broken into the safe.
Matters came to a head when the parents asked for the safe to be returned. Once the safe was returned the theft became clear and it did not take much working out that somebody in the family home, or access to it, was responsible.
When the Polygraph company was contacted a thorough pre-test interview was conducted and all the options available to the family were discussed. Clearly this was a family matter but should the Police be involved then forensic analysis of the safe would be a good starting point in solving the issue. Once all the possibilities were discussed the husband admitted that he had taken the money thinking he could repay it quickly after starting a family business.
Once he admitted the theft he stated that the matter was closed and they would now resolve the issue as a family. The examiner suggested that there was possibly still an issue around the amount of money that was taken. Obviously the husband knew how much he had taken and the parent, hopefully knew how much there was in the safe originally. It was therefore agreed to polygraph the man on the amount that he had stolen. He was adamant that a certain amount was taken and not a penny more. He subsequently passed the test which was pertaining to the amount stolen. This went a long way towards resolving the issue and showed the importance of thorough pre-test interview. The client knew after speaking to the examiner that the truth in this case was easy to find and that it was better to be exposed as a man who had succumbed to temptation and admitted his mistake, seeking forgiveness; rather than a thief who was also a liar and who would divert attention onto others to avoid responsibility.
The family was grateful that the matter was quickly resolved in a sympathetic way.
CS – 28: Employee Theft
I was prompted to write this article as a result of conducting a polygraph test recently on a group of employees working for a private chain of convenience stores. The regional manager had uncovered serious losses in the business and calculated that there had been over £10,000 taken over a 6 month period.
We commenced the investigation with the usual pre-test interview procedure, discussing with each individual employee, the issue under investigation and their personal involvement or lack of involvement, suspicions of whom they think or know were involved and a detailed individual personal history.
We always stress that the easiest way to pass a polygraph is to tell the truth, starting with the pre-test interview stage and continuing throughout the test process.
One individual was identified as being deceptive quite early on in the process. When he was questioned about the results in the post-test phase, he quickly admitted that he had occasionally “borrowed” £5 or £10 from the till but had never taken any more and his total overall would account to no more than £30. When he was challenged as to why he had not admitted those acts in the pre-test interview, he stated he was embarrassed and did not want to be blamed for the larger theft and he didn’t think a little lie would catch him out, as he hadn’t taken the larger amount. Further testing confirmed his statement.
Later, tests on other individuals identified two employees who both admitted diverting deliveries to their uncles’ local corner shop. Armed with the test results the regional manager decided to negotiate with the employees rather than report them to the police. We understand that items were returned and money was paid back to the business by the trio. Both men and the original person tested were later dismissed. Pre-employment testing will save companies money, time and reputation damage and should be part of any professional vetting procedure. No business is too small to be a victim of abuse by employees, a fact that too many companies find out only when it is too late.
CS – 29: Relationship Test for Margaret
Margaret, our client, had recently retired from teaching. She had lived alone for several years following the death of her husband but had now met a new partner. She owned her own home and her workplace pension meant she was comfortable financially. The couple had started to plan a life together but most of the plans relied on her accessing her finances.
Anthony, her partner, had two previous divorces, lived in a rented flat and worked in a local government office. Her suspicions were raised when he made excuses not to see her on two weekends and did not reply to her phone calls. Margaret was concerned that he was meeting someone else. He dismissed her concerns but didn’t offer any other explanation.
Anthony booked the examination in a last ditch effort to save the relationship. As he said on a number of occasions, “I wouldn’t waste my money paying for a test if I was going to lie”. The test was conducted and the client failed. During the post-test interview the examinee admitted meeting with one of his former wives who had stayed overnight on two occasions. He telephoned Margaret while we were still in the interview and confessed.
We always urge our clients to stop and consider before booking a test. We are all human; we make mistakes and hopefully learn from them but it is far better to openly if reluctantly admit your error to a partner. Far better than deceiving them right up to the point of a polygraph examination.
CS – 30: Sexual Abuse Validation
It is very unusual for a client to be late for a polygraph appointment but last week I sat watching the clock roll past the appointment time. I rang the client but no one picked up, so I assumed she had changed her mind.
Later that evening the client Amanda (not her real name) telephoned and apologised for not attending. She had wanted a polygraph test to prove she had been sexually assaulted when she was a child. She had told her mother at the time but she was not believed and her mother’s new partner was the abuser, so nothing was done about it and she had to continue to suffer.
Amanda explained that as she approached the office she saw and worse still, smelt the new tarmac being laid on the road, directly outside our office. The abuser had always worked “on the roads” and came home smelling of tarmac. He would get in the bath after work and invite her to wash his back, whilst her mother was downstairs preparing the evening meal. What seemed like harmless play, soon turned into sexual abuse.
Apologising profusely she said the smell just overpowered her emotions, causing her to freeze in the street and eventually she turned back for home, unable even to make a call to cancel the appointment. As a child she developed an avoidance strategy, so she would not be at home when he returned from work.
A fellow pupil had been arrested for shoplifting makeup and had told her that as long as
you were polite to the police, didn’t try to run away and admitted the offence, she would be simply “told off” and released after a few hours. She didn’t disclose the abuse to her friend but she did decide to shoplift, in fact, she decided to be the world’s worst shoplifter and she would always make sure she was seen and detained by the security staff.
The strategy worked, she was arrested and interviewed by the police, always admitting the offence and for the first two or three occasions everything worked out as she planned. Her mother would come to the station and act as her “Appropriate Adult” in the interviews and then take her home, where she would be sent directly to bed without her evening meal, as punishment. It was after the third arrest that her plans fell apart. By now she had come to the attention of Social Services who were working with the police to address juvenile offending.
Much, much worse was the fact her mother decided she had had enough of being called out to the police station to an ungrateful child. On this occasion, instead of her mother attending the station, he (the partner/abuser) came instead. So, now he was going to give her a lift home, a journey with country lane detours and more unwitnessed abuse.
Being concerned for her welfare, I suggested that I could refer her to a professional councillor or support group. She thanked me but declined, saying, “I didn’t let it spoil my life, I qualified as a social worker, so I know about the support. He died a while ago and I just want to be able to prove to my mom, that I was telling the truth”.
Amanda was insistent on having a test, so we agreed that we would book an office away from our own location and conduct the test there. Amanda attended the new appointment and passed the test.
CS – 31: Friendship Put to the Test
We recently received a call from a man who wanted a Lie Detector Test near Leeds, who wanted to confront his friend about a serious issue and he thought that putting him forward for a Lie Detector Test was the only way his concerns would be answered honestly.
There is a saying – “you can’t choose your relatives but you can choose your friends” suggesting that our personal choice of friends is in someway a guarantee of their loyalty, honesty and compassion towards you. Whilst this is often proven by actions more than words, we are all vulnerable to so called friends who leave us both astonished and in some cases devastated by their
actions when they let us down or take advantage of our trust. This is a situation we often are requested to deal with and assist to resolve by conducting a Lie Detector Test.
Our Leeds client wanted a Lie Detector Test near Leeds so as his “friend” would have no excuses to avoid the appointment local to his home location. Our Leeds client was adamant that his best friend, who was known to exaggerate or embellish his involvement in any situation, like a good storyteller, was lying to him. He can look you in the eye and tell you a whole different version of the true events, even if you had been present at whatever he was talking about said our client. He was well known for it amongst our friends and in the past, we had laughed about his tales. This time however, the matter was more serious, and our client wanted to get to the truth.
Every Friday after work was party time for the client and his friends. They all met up at a Leeds pub where they would commence the weekend wind down, celebrated with a few pints and shots.
Over the years the friends started individual relationships and their new partners would always join the group on their Friday celebrations. Our client was in a new relationship and he invited her to meet his friends at one such celebration. Everything was going great said the client. I introduced her to the crowd, and she gelled instantly which was helped when she realised that she knew a couple of the other female partners and my friend who I want polygraphed.
As usual the drinks flowed freely, and it looked like the evening was going to be another drunken success.
Unfortunately our clients friend seemed to change in his demeanour as the night progressed and eventually ended up being little more than an annoyance to the group, walking around flicking peoples ears and putting his fingers in their drink and flicking it in their faces. Tempers began to flare and eventually the barman asked the friend to leave, giving him very little option to refuse. Our client would normally have gone with him as he had done on numerous occasions in the past but on this occasion the client was with his new girlfriend, who amongst the others had been really irritated by the childish behaviour, so he decided to stay with her and the other friends to enjoy the rest of the evening.
Later that evening our client started receiving a string of text messages from his friend taunting him that he had previously had sex with the clients new girlfriend who was known to be as he said “an easy lay”. Our client explained that he had been in relationships in the past with women and had later found out that they had been unfaithful during the relationship with him. On one occasion he had actually booked a wedding only to find out she was cheating.
He found his friends texts were just playing over and over again in his mind, so he decided to confront his new girlfriend about the allegations. She was furious at the accusations and gave an ultimatum of either believing her or the clients friend. Our client was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He knew his friend could be jealous at times and obviously he had a history of making the facts fit his fictional account. But they had been mates for years and he had stood by the client when his previous girlfriends had cheated on him. At the same time, his new girlfriend was the kind of woman he had been looking for and he had quickly developed strong feeling for her.
He was at a loss how to resolve the dilemma until he came across an online article on the use of the polygraph and he decided to see if he could obtain a Lie Detector Test near Leeds to resolve it. Once the test was booked, as is our usual practice, we encourage the examinee to contact us with any concerns or issues that they may want explaining about the procedure. This examinee took us at our word and called us numerous occasions prior to the appointment to speak to an examiner directly. Each question was answered to his satisfaction, which is an advantage we have over other providers, employing our own examiners of repute who speak directly with our clients and or examinees, is far better than receiving advice from some call centre operator with no more than a crib sheet of information to guide you through your answers.
The friend did attend the test appointment and failed the polygraph test. When he was informed of the result, he accepted it without question.
Choose your friends wisely and if you have an issue that you cannot resolve then please feel free to call us. Our advice is free.