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Polygraph Unit
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The mission of the polygraph unit is to conduct polygraph examinations in support of the Criminal
Investigations Division and the command staff, by aiding in the resolution of criminal cases and identifying
applicants unfit for employment by the Police Department.
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A 2007 graduate of Troy University’s
Polygraph School, Detective Elizabeth Post
replaced Detective Wes Burns as the police
department’s sole polygraph examiner in
September 2007. In addition to performing
polygraphs as a primary duty, the polygraph
examiner provides investigative support to CID
and assists the Administrative Unit with hiring
coordination and policy analysis. The
departmental polygraph examiner must be a
graduate of a polygraph school accredited by the
American Polygraph Association (APA). The
examiner must be a member of the American
Polygraph Association and/or the American
Association of Police Polygraphists and must
attend training annually in order to acquire and
maintain APA and/or AAPP membership.
In 2007, Detective Post and Detective Burns
performed a combined total of fifty-five
polygraphs. Forty-six were pre-employment
screening tests, and nine were specific-issue,
or criminal case, tests. This was a 15%
reduction from the number of examinations
performed in 2006, when sixty-five tests were
performed, but roughly equivalent to the
fifty-two tests performed in 2005. The reduction
in the number of tests performed during 2007 can
be attributed to the two months that Detective
Post was attending polygraph school.
Detective Post graduated from the Troy
University Polygraph School in Atlanta, Georgia
in November 2007. She is currently completing
the internship requirements for membership to
the American Polygraph Association and the
American Association of Police Polygraphists.
She is a member of the Northwest Polygraph
Examiner’s Association.
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