Going techie: Karachi police will know when you’re lying

Department received five sets of lie detectors from the Australian Federal Police

KARACHI: With five sets of lie detectors available with them, Karachi police are now geared to press for legislation that makes their use permissible during investigations.

“Several times, the interrogators know whether or not the suspects are lying but, in some cases, they need to use lie detectors to clear their confusion,” explained Training DIG Dr Jameel Ahmad. “It is for the self satisfaction of the interrogator to know whether or not the suspect is lying.”



Recently, DIG Ahmad led a six-day workshop on ‘Computer Voice Stress Analyser’ aimed at improving investigation methods while using modern equipment. The training workshop was co-ordinated and conducted by DIG Training Sindh Police Dr Jameel Ahmad. The Australian Federal Police, who provided the lie detectors in 2011, helped in the training, which was attended by 35 personnel of Sindh Police and five from Baluchistan Police.

Using the voice analyser is not very complicated. A collar microphone is attached to the suspect’s shirt before he is confronted with a set of questions. When he answers those questions, the interrogator assesses the level of stress through the voice recorder.

The device gauges the fluctuations in the voice of the suspect during interrogation, explained DIG Ahmad. This helps the interrogator identify by up to 90 per cent if the suspect is lying or telling the truth, he said.

Several policemen will be trained on the use of this technology and, based on their performance, they will be posted as interrogators in the Karachi police. The legal implications of the use of this technology during interrogations will be brought under the ambit of the law so that the results provided by the device may be presented as evidence in court, he added.

Even though the policemen have been trained, they are still uncomfortable with the technology. “This training period was too short and we should be trained more,” said one of the experts while talking to The Express Tribune. “Our training also depends on the police investigators. The more they use the technology, the better will be our training,” he added.

The proponents claim that the voice analysing technology, combined with other testing protocols, is designed to protect the innocent and avoid ‘false positive’ results. “It helps us understand the psyche of the suspects,” said senior investigation officer SSP Khawaja Naveed while talking to The Express Tribune. “It is not helpful for anything else.”

SSP Naveed felt that apart from the trainers and experts, a psychiatrist should also be present to analyse the voice of the suspect. “To use lie detectors is not enough so we should have circumstantial and other evidence as well,” he said.

The five sets of lie detectors were procured in 2011 and have also been shared with specialised units, such as the Crime Investigation Department and the Anti-Car Lifting Cell, but the department has yet to use them effectively. The police force still relies on the traditional methods of interrogation that mostly involve physical torture.

“The criminals and terrorists are getting high-tech day by day so why shouldn’t we,” questioned DIG Ahmad. “There should be a need to modernise ways of investigation.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2014.