Police: Lie Detectors
2026-07-20 · Home Office · HL2372 · Official question
Question
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of police use of polygraph tests for (1) informing investigations, (2) use as evidence in court, (3) risk assessment purposes, (4) domestic abuse cases and investigations,
Answer
The Home Office does not centrally collect data on the number of police forces using polygraph tests, the frequency of their use, or their application in specific investigation types. Police forces are operationally independent of Government, and it is fo...