Polygraph could block racist police, says Dayton reform group
Streaming service tests way to crack down on the viewer practice.
A Dayton police reform group wants the polygraph test administered to police candidates to be used specifically to try to winnow out racists and white supremacists, as well as authoritarians.
The reform group also is considering recommending major changes to the polygraph process to try to avoid eliminating police candidates from diverse backgrounds and give candidates who fail the test another chance to pass.
Group members say they are concerned that some honest candidates are failing the test because it is subjective, stressful and unscientific and not because they deserve to be disqualified.
Dayton police officials say the polygraph has helped obtain important information they would not have otherwise received.
This includes admissions from candidates about crimes they committed that were not discovered during their background checks and fantasies they have about violent and criminal behaviors, like killing people and sexually assaulting kids and family members.
“Some people have admitted to stealing thousands of dollars of things,” said Dayton police Sgt. Joe Heyob, who is on the police reform committee focused on recruitment. “I can’t count how many times I was on the street
and I was in possession to check into the property room thousands and thousands of dollars. We can’t risk putting that sort of liability on citizens.”
The Dayton Police Department uses the polygraph test to screen police candidates.
The process is intrusive and uncomfortable, but the vetting tool helps determine if candidates have things in their past or traits that should prevent them from becoming cops, said Sgt. Heyob.
During polygraph tests, police candidates have admitted drug use, crimes and employment issues not reflected on their background reports, Heyob said.
Candidates have admitted to rape, theft, drug dealing and having fantasies about using kids as target practice, being aroused by young family members and letting suspects
go in exchange for sexual favors, he said.
In the last three years, the police department has administered 270 polygraph tests, Heyob said, and 25% of test-takers showed significant reactions possibly indicating deception and made some admissions.
About 9% showed reactions without admissions, he said, and overall 93 people provided information that the department did not
have prior to the interviews.
Nearly all candidates who showed significant reactions or possible signs of deception during their polygraph interviews were not hired, according to civil service and city officials.
The Dayton Police Department’s polygraph test asks a specific question about “extremist” ideology and whether candidates are involved in hate groups, subversive groups, street or motorcycle gangs, protests and espionage and sabotage, officials say.
But recruitment reform group members say they want the test to include questions that probe racial animus and authoritarian beliefs and tendencies. “I believe it’s about weeding out people who are racist who want to have power over people of color — that’s the interest of the polygraph for me,” said Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley, who is co-lead of the recruitment group.
Whaley said she wants some “guardrails” for use of polygraph tests to make it a more fair process, especially for candidates from diverse backgrounds.
“Just having one guy in the police department (administering the tests) — I just want to say that I am not comfortable with that,” she said.
Recruitment committee members say some candidates may show a physiological reaction because they are generally nervous or anxious about the polygraph process, similar to how some people find visiting the doctor or dentist stressful.
A reaction, they say, may have nothing to do with deception, meaning candidates are being rejected unfairly, they say.
The accuracy of polygraph tests is disputed, and some officials say they successfully get people to admit misdeeds because test-takers think they work.
One reform recommendation under consideration is moving polygraph tests from the police department to a neutral site, because committee members think that could make the setting and experience less stressful.
The reform group is considering recommending the police department add more polygraphists, including women or minority test-administrators if possible, and offering an appeals process applicants can use if they fail.
Some reform committee members support getting rid of the polygraph entirely because they think the tests are unreliable.
But other members say the tests help determine if candidates are unfit to wear a badge.
Travis Dunnington, a committee member, says the science behind polygraphs is questionable, but the polygraph process seems to get candidates to reveal and confess things they would otherwise be able to hide, which helps keep “power-hungry” racists and people with mental disorders off the police force.
“I do not want to lose diverse candidates to this process, but the reason for this process is to make candidates uncomfortable enough to say stuff they don’t want to say,” he said.
Sharing streaming passwords with friends or distant family members?
That may become harder to do on Netflix.
The Los Gatos, California-based streaming giant confirmed it’s testing a feature that will force some users to verify their accounts — policing those who share passwords outside of their households.
When users open the Netflix
TV app, they will be asked to verify their account with a code that is either texted or emailed to the account holder. If they aren’t the account holder, users will be reminded, “If you don’t live with the owner of this account, you need your own account to keep watching,” according to GammaWire, a site that reports on technology trends.
Users can opt to verify the information later, and after a time they may be prompted again to put in the verification code.
“This test is designed to help ensure that people using Netflix accounts are authorized to do so,” Netflix said in a statement, declining to specify what countries would be affected by the password crackdown.
Part of the idea behind the test is to protect consumers from security risks surrounding password sharing and to remind them of Netflix’s rules, according to a Netflix spokesperson.
Netflix’s terms of use on its website says, “The Netflix service and any content viewed through our service are for your personal and noncommercial use only and may not be shared with individuals beyond your household.”
Password sharing has become more common amid the pandemic, as more streaming services enter the market and consumers look for ways to cut costs.
About 42% of consumers in the spring said they had shared or received passwords since the spread of COVID-19, according to a study conducted by market research firm OnePoll for streaming service Tubi that was released in April.
Additionally, Netflix is competing against other streaming services including rivals such as Disney+, which has seen its users skyrocket since its launch in November 2019.
Netflix currently has more than 200 million subscribers and Disney said this week that Disney+ had more than 100 million subscribers.
In October, Netflix raised the price of its standard plan for streaming on two screens by $1 to $13.99 a month. Premium plans went up by $2 to $17.99 a month.