It has been around for decades now, every since it was first invented in the early 1920s. According to the readings, "the best known of the psycho-physiological techniques is the polygraph, which measures heart rate, skin conductance and respiration while a person is answering a number of questions" (Cooper et al
449) as a result of administering a polygraph, more comprehensive studies have determined that even in these instances while: There is reasonable evidence supporting polygraph use in some areas of risk assessment […] the vast majority of studies suffers from serious confounds that should be taken into account by professionals who use the polygraph as a standard practice in sexual offender risk assessment and management. (Gannon, Beech, & Ward, 2008, p
Although polygraphs are not admissible as evidence in the majority of courts, they still do play a large part in the post-confinement sentencing, surveillance, and control of sex offenders, such that their "application in postconviction settings became widespread in the late 1990s in relation to the monitoring and treatment of sex offenders" and furthermore: By the early 2000s, it was estimated that polygraphy was incorporated in the supervision of sex offenders by probation and parole agencies in up to 35 states, while a 2009 survey reported that nearly 80% of adult community treatment programs in the United States and over half of institutionally based ones incorporated polygraphy into treatment. (Grubin, 2010, pp
g., clinical psychology, medicine, and engineering) and the amount of empirical evidence supporting those practices," because "law enforcement does not appear to be immune to this widening scientist -- practitioner gap" (Snook, 2008, p