El Paso, TX -- (SBWIRE) -- 12/04/2012 -- Law enforcement and security professionals from across Latin America continue to travel to South Florida to be trained on the Computer Voice Stress Analyzer CVSA ®). The CVSA has been available to law enforcement agencies in the US since 1988, first as an analog device and since 1997 in a digital version. The CVSA is the only voice stress analyzer in the world with two US Patents, and the only system worldwide incorporating the FACT® scoring system, which uses scientifically validated processes to reliably and precisely evaluate the results of CVSA examinations. The CVSA is now used by close to 2,000 agencies and is the most widely used truth verification system in the US, far surpassing the number of agencies that use older polygraph equipment.

A soon to be published research study will report the accuracy rate of the CVSA is greater than 95%, an assertion long made by the system’s manufacturer. The study’s results are further supported by current US Government funded voice analysis research which has found voice technologies performed well for border security applications. The CVSA has been used by both the US Military and US Customs for such applications since the 1990’s. US military units in Afghanistan and Iraq reported the CVSA’s accuracy exceeded 95% during combat intelligence operations. Both the reliability and accuracy of the CVSA under combat conditions far exceeded that of a handheld polygraph device, which has fallen under scrutiny after being fielded without proper validation for vetting operations and no countermeasures testing. It has been previously reported poor vetting procedures by both the DOD and NATO contributed to insider attacks against US military by Afghan security force members.

Additionally, continuous high profile polygraph failures in Mexico and other Latin American countries have generated renewed interest in the more modern, reliable and precise CVSA system. This is especially true after the CVSA proved to be an effective investigative tool for Mexican anti-kidnapping squads involved in negotiations with kidnapping suspects.

In Mexico, dozens of Federal Police officers were discovered to be working with various criminal organizations after passing federally administered anti-corruption polygraph examinations. Critics of polygraph cite such incidents as proof of the polygraph’s limited capabilities. The US National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reported in a 2003 congressionally directed assessment that the polygraph has little to no capability to accurately screen individuals for security related issues. The NAS found that the majority of polygraph research was "Unreliable, Unscientific and Biased," concluding that 57 of the approximately 80 research studies cited by polygraph proponents were significantly flawed. NAS researchers stated such dismal performance by the polygraph is further complicated by the polygraph’s high false positive rate and the numerous countermeasures that can be employed to defeat the polygraph process, many of which are openly published on the internet. The NAS conclusions paralleled those of an earlier United States Congress Office of Technology Assessment report "Scientific Validity of Polygraph Testing: A Research Review and Evaluation” which also found the polygraph was ineffective for security screening applications. Research conducted in both Europe and the US over the past several years supports the superiority of voice stress analysis technology over older polygraph equipment, which explains the rapid adoption of the CVSA for truth verification applications in Latin America.

For further information about the CVSA certification training please contact the NACVSA at admin@nacvsa.org or by calling 888-358-5025.