Deception Detection

Atty Molly Cr Abiog, MD, LlB

University of the Cordilleras
College of Law
 Pursuit of Truth

 Knowledge of Truth
 Essential requirement for the administration of
justice
 Success or failure may rest solely on the ability
to evaluate the statement given by the suspect or
witness
 Task for its determination lies solely on the hand
of the investigator
 Methods of Deception Detection

 Devices that record psycho-physiological responses

 Use of Drugs that try to “inhibit the inhibitor”
 Hypnotism
 By observation
 Scientific interrogation
 Confession
 Nervous System

 Nervous System has three major components

 1. Central Nervous System
 2. Autonomic Nervous System
 3. Peripheral Nervous System
 Nervous System

 Central Nervous System

 Primarily controls the motor and sensory functions
that occur at or above the threshold
 May be voluntary or involuntary
 Autonomic Nervous System
 A self-regulating autonomic response of the body
 Nervous System

 Autonomic Nervous System

 2 Complimentary branches
 Sympathetic: Physical strain, emotional (fear, anger,
excitement, lie detection)
 Parasympathetic: Works to restore things to normal

(calm, contented, relaxed)

Psycho-physiological
Responses from the
Autonomic Nervous
System
Physical
Responses
to Emotion
Physical
Responses
to Emotion
 Devices That Record
Psycho-physiological Responses

1.1 Polygraph or lie detector machine

1.2 Word association test
1.3 Psychological stress evaluator
 1.1 Lie Detector (Polygraph)

 Polygraph is not appropriate to be also known

as lie detector
 A lie detector records physiological changes that
occur in association with lying in a polygraph
 Lie Detector (Polygraph)

 It is the fear of the subject that allows the

determination
 Fear of the subject when not telling the truth activates
the sympathetic nervous system to a series of automatic
and involuntary physiological changes, which are
recorded by the instrument
 Polygraph Examination Inadmissibility

 Reasons for the inadmissibility to the court of

the result of polygraph examination:
 Experimental Stage: lacks degree of
standardization
 Useful in investigation of a crime but has no place in
courtroom
 Trier of fact is apt to give almost conclusive
weight to the polygraph expert’s opinion
 Inadmissibility of Polygraph
 No way to assure that a qualified examiner has
administered the test
 High degree of accuracy when done under controlled
conditions by an examiner who is highly qualified due
to his ability, experience, education & integrity
 Judge is the one running the show in the courtroom
and not the polygraph expert
 Examinee may unwittingly waive his or her right
against self-incrimination
 Test itself has many errors!
 Dilemma of the Polygraph

 Not quantifiable
 Test itself has many errors=25%
 Dilemma of the Polygraph

Q: Can a person be compelled to be subjected to a lie

detector test?
A: Inasmuch as the test requires the answer “yes” or
“no,” it infers the use of intelligence and attention
or other mental faculties which is self-
incriminatory.
Thus, a person can not be compelled to be
subjected to a lie detector test
 When is the lie detector test result
admissible in court?

 If there is a stipulation of the parties and

counsels that they will accept the results
 If the defendant agrees to the admission of the
polygraph result, then he should not object if
the subsequent result turns to be unfavorable
to him
 Judge has the discretion as to admissibility of
the test result
 Other Devices that Record Psycho-
physiological responses
1.2 Word Association Test
 Lists of stimulus and non-stimulus words are read
to the subject who is instructed to answer as
quickly as possible
 Methods:
 Answer to the question may be “yes” or “no”
 Answer of the subject is to be recorded

 When the subject is asked questions with reference to

his name, address, civil status, nationality, etc. that has
no relation with the subject-matter of the investigation,
the tendency is to answer quickly
 Word Association Test

 When the question bear some words which have to do

with the criminal act the subject allegedly committed,
like knife, gun or hammer which is used in the killing,
the tendency is to delay the answer
 Test is not concerned with the answer, be it a “yes” or a

“no”. the important factor is the time of response in

relation to stimulus or non-stimulus words
 Subject cannot be compelled to be subject to the test

without his consent

 Other Devices that Record Psycho-
physiological Responses

1.3 Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE)

 When a person speaks, there are audible voice
frequencies, and superimposed on these are the
inaudible frequency modulations, which are
products of minute oscillation of the muscles of
the voice mechanism
 Such oscillation of the muscles or microtremor occurs
at the rate of 8 to 14 cycles per second and controlled by
the nervous system.
Other Devices that Record Psycho-physiological
Responses

 Psychological Stress Evaluator (PSE)

 When a person is lying, the microtremor in the
voice utterance is moderately or completely
suppressed
 Degree of suppression varies inversely to the degree of
psychological stress in the speaker.
 PSE detects, measures and graphically displays the
voice modulation that we cannot bear
 2. USE OF DRUGS THAT TRY TO
“INHIBIT THE INHIBITOR”
2.1 Administration of “truth serum”
2.2 Narcoanalysis or narcosynthesis
2.3 Intoxication
 Use of drugs that “inhibit the inhibitor”

2.1 Use of “Truth Serum” - a misnomer!

 Does not make someone tell the truth and what is
administered is not a serum but is actually a drug
 Hyoscine hydrobromide-by hypodermic injection
 Depressant of CNS- (cortex, diencephalons)
 Repeated doses induces to a state of delirium
 Patient feels the compulsion to tell the truth, forgets his alibi,
gives details of his acts or may even implicate others
 Has potential risk, seldom used by law enforcement agencies
 Use of drugs that “inhibit the inhibitor”

2.1 Use of “Truth Serum”

 Statements taken from the subject while under the
influence of the truth serum are involuntarily
obtained hence they are not admissible as evidence
 Drugs that “inhibit the inhibitor”

2.2 Narcoanalysis or Narcosynthesis

 Use of Sodium amytal/ Sodium pentothal
 Drug causes the depression of the inhibitory
mechanism of the brain and the subject talks freely
 Administration of this drug and subsequent
interrogation must be done by a psychiatrist with a
long experience on the line
 Not admissible in court also
 Drugs that “inhibit the inhibitor”

2.3 Intoxication with Alcohol: “In Vino Veritas”

 Ability of alcohol to reveal the real person behind
the mask which all of us are said to wear (“mask of
sanity”) is reflected in the age-old maxim, in vino
veritas’ (in wine there is truth)
Method Employed in Intoxication with Alcohol

 Person whose statement is to be taken is

allowed to take alcoholic beverages to almost
intoxication
 At this point the power to control diminishes and
the investigator starts pounding questions and
recording answers
Method Employed in Intoxication with Alcohol

 Questioning must start during the excitatory state

when the subject has the sensation of his well-
being and when his action, speech and emotion are
less strained due to the lowering of the inhibition
normally exercised by the higher brain centers.
 But when the subject is already in depressive state,
he will no longer be able to answer any question
Method Employed in Intoxication with Alcohol

 Confessions made by the subject while under

the influence of alcohol may be admissible if
he is physically capable to recollect the facts
that he uttered after the effects of alcohol have
disappeared
 But in most instances, subject can not recall
everything that he had mentioned or he may
refuse to admit the truth of the statement given
 Other Methods of Deception Detection

3. HYPNOSIS:
 The alteration of consciousness and concentration in which
the subject manifests a heightened of suggestibility while
awareness is maintained
 Not all persons are susceptible to hypnotic induction
 Subjects who are compulsive-depressive type, strong-
willed like lawyers, accountants, physicians and other
professionals are usually non-hypnotizable
 Not admissible in court
 Reasons why Hypnotism is
Not Admissible in Court

 It lacks the general scientific acceptance of

reliability of hypnosis per se in ascertaining the
truth from falsity
 The fear that the trier of facts will give uncritical
and absolute reliability to a scientific device
without consideration of its flaws in ascertaining
veracity
 Possibility that the hypnotized subject will
deliberately fabricate
 Reasons why Hypnotism is
Not Admissible in Court

 Prospect that the state of heightened suggestibility

in which the hypnotized subject is suspended will
produce distortion of the fact rather than the truth
 State of the mind, skill and professionalism of the
examiner are too subjective to permit admissibility
of the expert testimony
 Reasons why Hypnotism is
Not Admissible in Court

 Confession while under hypnotic spell is not

admissible as evidence because such “psychiatric
treatment” is involuntary and mentally coercive
(Leyra v Demro, 347 U.S. 556, 74 S Ct 716, 98
(1954)
 Although hypnosis may not yield admissibility
evidence it may be of some use during
investigation as a discovery procedure
 4. BY OBSERVATION
 A good criminal investigator must be a keen observer
and a good psychologist
 A subject under stress on account of the stimulation
of the sympathetic nervous system may exhibit
changes that may be used as a potential clue of
deception
 And since just one or a combination of the following
signs and symptoms are not conclusive or a reliable
proof of guilt of the subject, their presence infers
further investigation to ascertain the truth of the
impression
Physiological and Psychological Signs and
Symptoms of Guilt
 Sweating
 Sweating accompanied by a flushed face indicate anger,
embarrassment or extreme nervousness
 Sweating with a pallid face may indicate shock or fear
 Sweating hands indicate tension
 Color Change
 Flushed face: anger, embarrassment and shame
 Pale face: sign of guilt
Physiological and Psychological Signs and
Symptoms of Guilt
 Dryness of the Mouth, Swallowing and
Licking of the lips
 Excessive Activity of the Adam’s Apple
 “Peculiar feeling inside”
 Tension of lightness of the head and the subject is
confused
Physiological and Psychological Signs and
Symptoms of Guilt
 Fidgeting
 Subject is restless, nervous and observed to
 moving about in the chair
 pulling his ears

 rubbing his face

 picking and tweaking the nose

 crossing and uncrossing his legs

 rubbing the hair, eyes, eyebrows

 biting or snapping fingernails, etc

 Physiological and Psychological Signs &
Symptoms of Guilt
 Swearing to the truthfulness of his assertion
 Usually a guilty subject frequently utters such expressions
 “Matayak man tatta” (“Mamatay man ako ngayon”)
 “Tamaan dak man ti kidlat”(“Tamaan man ako ng kidlat”)
 “I swear to God I am telling the whole truth”
 “I hope my mother drops dead!”
 ”I swear to God”… etc
 Such expressions are made to make forceful and his assertion of
innocence
Physiological and Psychological Signs and
Symptoms of Guilt
 Spotless past records
 “Religious man”
 Subject may assert that it is not nor possible for him to
do “anything like that” inasmuch as he is a religious
man and that he has a spotless record
Physiological and Psychological Signs and
Symptoms of Guilt
 Inability to look at the investigator “straight in the
eye”
 Subject does not look into the investigator’s eyes for the
fear that his guilt may be seen in his eyes
 He will rather look at the floor or at the ceiling
 “Not that I remember” expression
 Subject will resort to the use of “not that I remember”
expression when answering to be evasive or to avoid
committing something prejudicial to him
 5. SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION

 Questioning of a person suspected of having

committed an offense or of persons reluctant
to make a full disclosure of information in his
possession which is pertinent to the
investigation
 May be done on a suspect or a witness
 Types of Criminal Offenders

 For purposes of investigation, the different

types of Criminal Offenders:
A. Based on behavioral attitude
1. Active aggressive offenders - impulsive manner
 Aggressive behavior e.g. crimes of passion, revenge and
resentments
2. Passive inadequate offenders
 Types of Criminal Offenders

B. Based on the state of the mind:

1. Rational offenders
 Those who commit crime with motive or intention and with
full possession of their mental faculties
 E.g.: Killing with evident premeditation

2. Irrational offenders
 Those who commit crime without knowing the nature and
quality of his act.
 Example: Mad killer
 Types of Criminal Offenders

C. Based on proficiency
1. Ordinary offenders
2. Professional offenders
 Example: Pick-pocketing and shoplifting
 Types of Criminal Offenders

D. Based on Psychological classification

1. Emotional offenders
 Sympathetic approach
2. Non-emotional offenders
 Persons who commit crimes for financial gain
 Usually recidivist or repeaters
 Appeal to his common-sense and reasoning rather than to his
emotion
 Some Techniques of Interrogation

 Emotional appeal
 Mutt and Jeff technique
 Bluff on split-pair technique
 Stern approach
 Subject is given the opportunity to make a
lengthy, time-consuming narration
 6. Confession

 An expressed acknowledgment by the accused

in a criminal case of the truth of his guilt as to
the crime charged, or of some essentials
thereof
 Is different from admission
 Admission is a statement of fact by the
accused which does not directly involve an
acknowledgment of guilt
 Kinds of Confession

 Extrajudicial confession
 Made by an accused outside of court prior to trial
 Not sufficient ground for conviction, unless
corroborated by evidence of corpus delicti
 Corpus delicti – body of crime or fact of specific loss or
injury sustained
 Types
 Voluntary
 Involuntary
 Kinds of Confession

 Judicial confession
 Made in an open court
 Conclusive upon the court & may be considered a
mitigating circumstance to criminal liability
 A plea of guilty when formally entered on
arraignment is sufficient to sustain of any offense,
even a capital one, without further proof
 Sec 2, Rule 129, Rule of Court
 Maltreatment of Prisoners

 Maltreatment of prisoners for the purpose of

exhorting confession or to obtain some
information is a crime!
 Art 235, Revised Penal Code
 Penalty of arresto mayor in its medium period to prision
correccional in its minimum period
 Torture or cruel inhuman treatment

 As defined under Tokyo Declaration

 Deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of
physical or mental suffering by one or more
persons acting alone or on the orders of any
authority, to nforce another person
 to yield information
 to make a confession or

 for any other reason