Report finds CDOC using Invalid Polygraphs that Keep Inmates Incarcerated

An independent research specialist found Jeff Jenks, the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) polygrapher, used inadequate   equipment and unauthorized techniques when giving exams to hundreds of inmates under the Lifetime Supervision Act.

The report, published in January by Raymond Nelson, M.A., N.C.C., chair of the research committee and member of the Board of Directors for the American Polygraph Association (APA) was part of exhibits filed in federal court against CDOC in a class action lawsuit brought by attorney John K. Pineau of Boulder.

Jenks, whose company Amichs and Jenks has the sole contract to administer hundreds of polygraphs each year to the state's incarcerated sex offender population, is also a member of Colorado's Sex offender Management Board (SOMB.) Nelson found that Jenks' examinations did not meet APA or SOMB requirements of current standards or practice and did not produce valid reliable results. Five areas are highlighted as specific areas of concern.

1. Nelson found, ''Numerical scoring provided by Mr. Jenks, do not comply with requirements of SOMB standard 6.151. Numerical scores provided by Mr. Jenks do not conform to any published description of the scoring protocol for...any known polygraph technique."

According to Nelson, the technique used by Jenks is an nonstandard modification of an old technique not allowed by the APA because there is no way to calculate the probability of error.

2. The numerical score used, known as the Axciton Chart Analysis, is an undocumented proprietary algorithm that has no published statistical procedures to derive results causing inconclusive outcomes. This method of testing also only provides results for the entire test and not a single relevant question where the question could have several associated behaviors, many not criminal.

3. Nelson found that equipment used by Jenks did not have the required number of sensors and, "The instrumentation used...does not conform to the requirements of the Colorado SOMB or the current requirement of the APA...and is out of compliance with state and national standards.''

4. In his exam reports Jenks says medications don't affect the polygraph yet Nelson disagrees saying medications significantly affect the sympathetic and autonomic nervous system actively recorded in the exam report.

5. Nelson found that Jenks intentionally mixed test questions compromising the accuracy of the exam, a practice not endorsed by the APA. Nelson cites SOMB 6.100, "polygraph examiners shall adhere to the established ethics, standards, and practices of the APA and the American Society for Testing and Materials."

The validity of polygraph test results is a critical issue to those incarcerated with a sex offense and their families.

Successful polygraph exams are one of seven criteria established by the SOMB (where Jenks is a board member) needed to be considered for parole.

The low rate of successful polygraph results and the expense associated with testing is one of the main factors contributing to the backlog of inmates waiting years for treatment. According to state documents, in 2010 CDOC budgeted over $99,500 to polygraph just 218 inmates while over 700 inmates remained an the waiting list for treatment. It is unknown how many of the 218 inmates actually passed their exams in 2010.

The polygraph is used in sex offender treatment not to verify the crime of record, but to identify other crimes or deviant behavior the inmate might have done prior to coming to prison - these questions encompass the offenders entire life back to his earliest childhood memories.

This method of treatment is ripe for abuse. If the polygraph is scored as deceptive the inmate must disclose another crime or deviant behavior before he will be allowed to progress in treatment. By disclosing a new crime, possibly made up, the inmate has validated the original results of the polygraph - that he was deceptive or lying, which, according to Nelson, may have been caused by unreliable testing techniques used by Jenks.

The Instigation for an inmate to comply with any demand, even to create a fictitious deviant behavior, is great. If an inmate is dropped from treatment he could spend the rest of his life in prison - even for a nonviolent crime. This reality provides the impetus for inmates to do what is necessary to comply and not challenge the polygraph results.

Nelson's findings question the validity of Jenks' methods and in turn the entire therapeutic process that relies on the veracity of his polygraph results. This discovery will impact thousands of inmates statewide and draw unwanted attention to the SOMB and Jenks during litigation of Pineau's federal lawsuit.