Posted on 03/08/2013 9:38:18 PM PST by DogByte6RER
Tennessee police chief using lie detector to sniff out racists on his force
The police department in Coopertown, Tenn. has been rocked by scandals for more than a decade. Their newest police chief, Shane Sullivan, is using a polygraph test to clean up the town’s image and keep bigots off his force.
COOPERTOWN, Tenn. — A police chief hired to rebuild a tiny Tennessee department dismantled by scandal is using a lie-detector test to keep racists off his force.
Coopertown Police Chief Shane Sullivan took over the department in November, becoming the 11th chief in as many years. He was hired on the heels of a series of police scandals that for a few months left Coopertown with no police at all. Years before that, a mayor was voted out of office after the local prosecutor accused him of racism and running a notorious speed trap.
Law enforcement experts say Sullivan's polygraph approach is unusual, though some departments use the devices for other purposes during the application process. Others try to root out bias in other ways. One polygraph expert warned that lie detectors can't accurately predict racism for reasons that include people's inability to recognize their own racism.
Sullivan said he doubts racists will even apply for the force if they know about the tests.
"I think the polygraph will definitely keep these people from applying," the 39-year-old chief said.
And he believes the policy is working, because he says it's already discouraged some applicants. "I've told a couple of ones about the polygraph who have not called me back."
Before Sullivan's hiring, the sheriff's department had overseen law enforcement in the town 30 miles northwest of Nashville while the department was temporarily disbanded.
First, the only full-time patrolman was fired over a road rage incident. Then the reserve officer was dismissed after a dashboard camera captured him using a racial slur to describe a black motorist. The dash cam video was later aired in the media. Soon after that, the police chief quit.
Coopertown Mayor Sam Childs said the chief resigned because of the "predatory media."
"You're RACIST!"
FAIL
Oldfashioned racism-ism.
“Coopertown Police Chief Shane Sullivan says the test doesn’t ask people if they’re racist — only if they’ve committed race-based crimes.”
I’d like to know exactly what questions are being asked. And are black and white applicants asked the same questions, etc...
“Do you believe the ancient Greeks stole civilization from black Africans?” If you answer “Yes”, will you be fired/ not hired? /s;)
As a retired police officer, so would I.
Anyone in this day and age knows that only whites can be judge racist.
Got that right.
polygraphs are not lie detectors.
they just measure a response to a yes or no question.
you can get severe reactions for a multitude of reasons. people can react because they are pissed off about being asked an offensive question. subject matter can be a trigger. the assumption you are lying can cause reactions - baseline taken or not. knowing a certain question is important to your guilt or innocence can cause a reaction.
which is why they are inadmissable as evidence in court. why the cop, who’d know this, uses it for applicants, is beyond me. i think it’s more to have people censor themselves from applying. but he may be stopping good people from applying too.
We’ll see how quickly a court tosses this out.
More and more like the Turner Diaries every day
“More and more like the Turner Diaries every day”
Real close.
The chief is probably the biggest racist of all.
what do you think? Only blacks need apply?
“Are polygraph tests admissible in court?”
“It depends on where you are, as the United States Supreme Court has left it up to individual jurisdictions whether to outlaw polygraph use or set standards for admission, like the 11th Circuit in the federal court system has. On the other hand, in some states, even the mention of a lie detector test can be grounds to ask for a new trial.”
http://www.legalzoom.com/legal-headlines/technology/whats-deal-lie
“Is a polygraph admissible in court?”
“Yes, if ruled on by the judge. The judge is least likely to use a polygraph test if it was given by an unaccredited examiner. There is a great deal of activity in the court system today regarding the use of polygraph, the laws are changing rapidly.”
“Admissibility - Polygraph results (or psychophysiological detection of deception examinations) are admissible in some federal circuits and some states.”
http://www.truthorlie.com/admissible.html
And the polygraph industry is a major cottage industry in this nation. Polygraph operator have ruined many careers over time.
That's what I was thinking as well. At least as the chief defines racism.
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