PNW Polygraph Services, LLC

Polygraph testing is by appointment only. Please call or email to schedule an appointment. Every effort will be made to accommodate your schedule and conduct the exam promptly.

Dress comfortably for private polygraph examinations, but please do not wear: tank tops, gym shorts, sweats, bathing suits, baggy shirts, bulky sweaters, or soiled clothes. All polygraph sensors will be donned on the outside of the clothes you wear. If you are taking an exam for pre-employment or other professional purposes, a suit and tie are not required; 'business casual' attire is recommended for those situations.

The polygraph has been in use for over 75 years. During that time approximately 250 studies have been conducted on the accuracy of polygraph tests. Since conditions and factors involved in research will vary, and since a polygraph examination is a very complex process, it is difficult to extract a precise accuracy figure from the data. Nevertheless, the preponderance of available information indicates that the accuracy of a properly trained examiner, utilizing established testing procedures, is around 95% for specific-issue investigations. While the polygraph technique is not infallible, research clearly indicates that when administered by a competent examiner the polygraph test is the most accurate means available to determine truth and deception. Since 1980, a compendium of research studies - encompassing 80 research projects involving 6,380 polygraph examinations and 12 studies of the validity of field examinations following 2,174 field examinations, indicate an average accuracy rate of 98%.

A professional polygraph examination has three phases: a pretest phase, data collection (the test) phase, and a post-test phase, which includes test data analysis. A typical polygraph examination will last at least 90 minutes, and sometimes longer. In the pretest phase, required paperwork is completed and the polygraph examiner gets to talk with the examinee about polygraph and the issue being tested. The data collection or "test" phase takes place in a quiet room where distractions are held to an absolute minimum. The examiner will attach the sensor components to the person and then ask the previously reviewed questions that are designed to be answered “yes” or “no”. Data is collected by the sensors and instrument and a computerized recording of physiological responses is obtained. In the post-test phase, the examiner will analyze and score the chart data and render an opinion as to the truthfulness of the person being examined.