The British Polygraph Society

BPS Constitution

BPS Constitution

Name

The name of this organization shall be the “British Polygraph Society” (BPS).

Goals

The goal of the British Polygraph Society is to provide mankind with a valid and reliable means to verify the truth of the matter asserted by:

  1. Serving the cause of truth with integrity, objectivity and fairness to all.
  2. Encouraging and supporting research, training and education to benefit members of the Organization as well as those who support its purpose and by providing a forum for the presentation and exchange of information derived from such research, training and education.
  3. Establishing and enforcing standards for admission to membership and continued membership in the Organization.
  4. Governing the conduct of members of the Organization by requiring adherence to a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards of Practice.

Definitions

  1. “Organization”- shall mean the British Polygraph Society or any successor thereto.
  2. “APA”- shall mean the American Polygraph Association which is the parent organization in the subject of Polygraph and accredits Polygraph Schools at the level accepted by the BPS.
  3. “Board”- shall mean the Board of Directors of the Organization.
  4. “By-Laws”- shall mean any set of rules or other writings established by the Board of Directors for the purpose of the administration of the affairs of the Organization. The Board of Directors shall establish and maintain By-Laws. The By-Laws shall include, but are not limited to, a Code of Ethics and a set of Standards of Practice.
  5. “Director”- unless otherwise described in this Constitution, shall mean any person elected to hold office under the provisions of this Constitution.
  6. “Elective Year”- shall mean the period between meetings of the General Membership held for the purpose of electing Directors and Officers of this Organization.
  7. “Meeting”- shall mean any meeting of the General Membership of this Organization, any meeting of the Board of Directors of this Organization or any meeting of any committee authorized by this Constitution or convened at the direction of the President or the Board of Directors.
  8. “Member” shall mean any person, partnership or division as defined and or limited by the Constitution or By-Laws of this Organization.
  9. “Officer”- shall mean any person elected to one of the following offices: President, Vice Presidents, Secretary etc.
  10. “Person”- shall mean a human being as opposed to a partnership or division.
  11. “Polygraph”- Poly= Many, Graph= Chart.
  12. “Polygraph Machine”- may refer to a machine which measures and records physiological responses on several tracks at the same time.
  13. “Polygraph Exam”- may refer to a psychophysiological exam used to assess the truthfulness of the answers of an individual during the exam, according to his registered responses in the Polygraph Instrument.
  14. “Voting Member”- shall mean any member of the Organization as defined or limited by the By-Laws.
  15. “BPS Year” shall mean the calendar year beginning on January 1st at midnight and ending on December 31st at midnight of any year. The affairs of this Organization shall operate on the basis of a calendar year. A fiscal year may be utilized for financial accounting.
  16. In the event this Constitution, or any part thereof, or any additions or amendments made subsequently thereto, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, be found in conflict with any law, federal or state, such conflict shall be resolved in favor of the law; provided, that if the provisions of law be less than the requirements of this Constitution, such conflict shall be resolved in favor of this Constitution.

General Provisions

  • This document shall be known as the Constitution of the British Polygraph Society.
  • No action or proceeding commenced before this constitution takes effect, and no right accrued, is affected by the provisions of this Constitution.
  • All provisions thereafter taken herein shall conform to the provisions of this Constitution.
  • Unless the context otherwise requires, the General Provisions hereinafter set forth shall govern the construction of this Constitution and By-Laws established by the Board of Directors.
  • Whenever any notice, report, statement or record is required by this Constitution or the By-Laws of this Organization, it shall be made in writing in English and/ or Hebrew.
  • Whenever any reference is made to any portion of this Constitution, such reference shall apply to all amendments and additions thereto now or hereafter made.
  • The present tense includes the past and future tense; and the future, the present. The singular includes the plural and the plural the singular. The masculine gender includes the feminine and neuter. “Shall” is mandatory and “may” is permissive.

Membership

  1. Membership in the British Polygraph Society is a privilege.
  2. Eligibility:
    1. The founders of this organization are members from the first day this organization was registered in the record book.
  3. There shall be 7 types of membership:
    1. Temporary Membership
    2. Full Membership
    3. Associate Membership
    4. Life Membership
    5. Science & Technology Membership
    6. Honorary Membership
    7. Divisional Membership
  4. Polygraph Examiner Membership:
    1. Any Polygraph Examiner shall be entitled to be accepted as a member of the BPS by complying with the following stipulations:
      1. Is not under the age of 23.
      2. Has an academic degree in behavioral science (i.e. Psychology, Criminology, Social Work etc.) or any other relevant degree that the Board of Directors approved, through a certified academic facility.
      3. Graduated Polygraph Training according to the BPS & APA’s standards.
      4. Completed a minimum of 200 Polygraph Exams supervised by a qualified examiner, during the 3 years following his graduation from a certified academic facility by the APA and/ or during the 2 years prior to the submission of the membership application. Up until that, the graduate would be accepted as a temporary member to the BPS.
  5. Types of Membership – Definition:
    1. Temporary Membership – shall be granted to: any graduate of a certified school by the APA till Completion of 200 Polygraph Exams supervised by a qualified examiner.
    2. Full Membership – shall be granted to: any graduate of a certified school by the APA that has completed at least 200 Polygraph Exams supervised by a qualified examiner (who’s a member of the BPS and/ or APA). Full member of the APA will be automatically accepted to the BPS once he’d submitted his membership application.
    3. Associate Membership – shall be granted to: an Individual who isn’t a Polygraph Examiner but his profession has relevancy to Polygraph.
    4. Life Membership – shall be granted to: the founder of the organization, a member of the organization for over 25 years consecutively and a retired member.
    5. Science & Technology Membership – shall be granted to: a person who does researches and develops technology in order to promote the polygraph profession.
    6. Honorary Membership – shall be granted to: a person in which the Board of Director decided to accept due to his unique contribution to the polygraph profession and his membership promotes the organization’s goals.
    7. Divisional Membership – shall be granted to: any organization which accepts the standards and rules that were established by the BPS and its goal is to represent the Polygraph examiner in his country.
  6. Membership Application:
    1. A person who wishes to become a member of the Organization or an applicant, shall fill out a special application form provided by the Secretary of the Organization.
    2. A person shall sign a declaration regarding his understanding of the Organization’s goals and standards and his acceptance to comply with the decisions of the Organization’s general Assembly once he’s accepted as a member.
    3. A member of the APA shall be accepted automatically as mentioned above, once he signs the membership application.
    4. The decision making in regards to the membership applications shall be done by the Boards of Directors.
    5. The applicant has the right to appeal in writing, which will be passed on by the Committee to the next Organization assembly.
    6. An applicant whose application and/ or appeal were rejected is entitled to reapply after 6 months or over from the date of his previous application.
  7. Members Rights and Duties:
    1. A member of the Organization shall be entitled to participate and vote in any General Assembly of the Organization and will be counted as 1 vote in every voting.
    2. An applicant, associate member and honorary member shall be entitled to participate in any General Assembly of the Organization, without the right to vote.
    3. A member shall be qualified to be elected to any institution of the Organization unless he was disqualified by the Disciplinary Court.
    4. A member or an applicant shall be entitled to participate in the Organization’s activities and benefit from all the services the Organization has to offer its members.
    5. The Board of Director, authorized by the General Assembly, shall be entitled to determine the obligatory membership fee.
    6. An applicant shall pay the membership fee in full, unless was exempted by the Board of Directors.
    7. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to exempt members from annual membership fees, as they see fit according to the standards that were set during the Board of Directors meeting.
    8. Fees for all members shall be equal.
    9. Membership or candidacy expiry does not exempt one from paying what’s owed to the Organization for the period up until the membership or candidacy expiry.
    10. A member or applicant must fulfill all obligations set by this constitution, including the code of ethics and any other obligation, rule or procedure set by any of the organization’s institutions within the realm of its authority, except for all obligations opposition the binding instructions of the public organization for whom the member or applicant works or have worked in the past as a polygraph examiner.
  8. Membership or Candidacy Expiration:
    1. Membership or candidacy expires:
      1. In the death of the member or the candidate.
      2. In his retirement from the Organization by serving his notification to the Board of Directors.
      3. In his dismissal from the Organization by the General Assembly in the cases mentioned herein.
      4. In his dismissal from the Organization according to the ruling of the Disciplinary Court as mentioned herein.
      5. In cases where the Board of Directors decided to suspend urgently and temporarily a member or a candidate.
    2. The General Assembly is entitled, according to suggestions by the Board of Directors, to decide on a dismissal of a member or a candidate for the following reasons:
      1. The member or candidate did not comply with the instructions of the constitution or a decision made by the Board of Directors.
      2. The member or candidate acts in contrary to the goals of the Organization.
      3. The member or candidate was convicted of an offense involving moral turpitude.
      4. The member or candidate violated the Code of Ethics and/ or the Standards of Practice.
      5. The member or candidate acted in a shameful manner which discredits the Organization.
      6. The member or candidate did not pay the dues owed to the Organization.
    3. The Board of Directors will not suggest to the general Assembly to expel a member or a candidate before it had issued a warning and gave the member or candidate the opportunity to right the wrong
    4. The Board of Directors will not suggest to the general Assembly to expel a member or a candidate before it had given him the opportunity to justify his actions.
  9. Urgent & Temporary Suspension
    1. The Board of Directors may temporarily suspend a membership or candidacy should a member or candidate is investigated for a criminal or disciplinary offense or is on trial or a disciplinary hearing for one of these offenses until the end of the investigation, trial or disciplinary hearing.
    2. The Board of Directors will not suspend a member or candidate as mentioned before, unless it’s convinced that the offense or offenses are severe enough that the continuation of his membership or candidacy during the investigation, trial or disciplinary hearing is likely to affect the reputation of the profession and/ or the goals of the Organization.
    3. Once a member or candidate is urgently & temporarily suspended, it is forbidden for him to use the title “Member of” or “Candidate for Membership” in the BPS or to present himself as such, as long as the suspension has not been lifted.
    4. Changes or additions to classes of membership or qualifications, rights and privileges of each class of membership shall be recommended only by a 2/3 majority vote of the Board of Directors as set forth in the By-Laws of the Organization. These changes must be approved by a majority vote of all voting members present at any meeting of the General Assembly.
    5. Instead of suspension or termination of membership, the Board of Directors may censure any member, publicly or privately, or impose such other discipline as deemed appropriate, for any violation of Section H of this Constitution.
    6. The Board shall act upon the findings and recommendations of the Disciplinary Committee at the next scheduled meeting of the Board of Directors.

Directors and Officers

Only authorized Voting Members shall hold office as a Director or as an Officer.

  1. Directors- Directors shall perform the duties and fulfill the obligations of their office as defined in the By-Laws of the Organization.
  2. Each Director shall be elected to and shall serve a term of 2 years or until the next meeting of the General Membership thereafter and may be reelected to consecutive terms.
  3. Officers- Officers shall perform the duties and fulfill the obligations of their office as defined in the By-Laws of the Organization. The Officers shall be 2 in number and shall be the:
    1. President – The President shall serve one year in that capacity and in the subsequent year as Immediate Past President and shall serve as the Director of the Board of Directors.
    2. Secretary – The Secretary shall be elected to and serve a term of 2 elective years and may be reelected to consecutive terms.
  4. Board of Directors- The Board of Directors (BOD) shall be 5 in numbers and shall consist of:
    1. The President
    2. The Director
    3. The 2 Vice Presidents- one of them will be in charge of research and Development
    4. The Secretary
  5. There may be Ex-Officio members of the Board of Directors. They must be nominated by the President and confirmed by a 2/3 majority vote of the Board of Directors. They may attend any and all meetings of the Board, but shall have no vote in matters before the Board.
    Ex-Officio members may include, but not limited to:

    1. Treasurer
    2. Legal aid
    3. spokesperson
  6. The Board of Directors shall convene within 24 hours prior to every meeting of the General Membership of the Organization and, at such other times and places as may be necessary. A special meeting may be called at any time by the Chairman of the Board of Directors or through petition of the majority of the Board members. No decision shall be made by the Board in the absence of 2/3 of the Board.
  7. The Board of Directors is responsible for the administration of the affairs of the Organization and is authorized to take any action necessary to protect the best interests of the Organization.

Professional Training

  1. Eligibility to be registered as an Intern.
    One shall be entitled to be accepted as an intern by complying with the following stipulations:

    1. Is not under the age of 23.
    2. Has an academic degree in behavioral science (i.e. Psychology, Criminology, Social Work etc.) or any other relevant degree that the Board of Directors approved, through a certified academic facility.
    3. Graduated Polygraph Training according to the BPS & APA’s standards.
  2. Trainers
    1. Internship shall be done under the direct supervision and by a professional trainer.
    2. One shall become a trainer once the following requirements are met:
      1. He’s a full member of the BPS & APA.
      2. Has 4 years of experience as a Polygraph Examiner.
      3. The member wasn’t disqualified as a trainer by the Board of Directors.
  3. Trainer Disqualification
    The Board of Directors shall be entitled to disqualify a member from becoming a trainer, after giving him the opportunity to state his claims, once:

    1. The Central Committee discovered that the member did not follow through with his duties as a trainer, though he had the obligation to do so.
    2. The member has been convicted by the Disciplinary Court of the Organization and, in light of his conviction, the Board of Directors deems the member as not fit a trainer.
    3. Following the above, the member shall be entitled to submit an appeal to the Court of Appeals within 45 days from the day of the disqualification notice.
  4. Interns’ Supervisor
    1. The Board of Directors shall be entitled to appoint a member of the Organization as a supervisor of the interns (hereafter: “The Supervisor”).
    2. The supervisor shall be authorized to voice an opinion before the Board of Directors regarding the quality of the intern’s internship and, to this end, he shall be authorized to carry out written and oral inquiries with both the trainers and the interns.
  5. Training ban
    1. No member of the Organization shall train to perform polygraph examinations, in any way, shape or form, individuals who do not meet with the basic standards of the Organization as set in this article.

Meetings, Elections, Voting and Dues

  1. The General Membership of the Organization shall meet once each calendar year for a General Membership Meeting and act upon any business brought before it. The General Membership may elect to meet at any other time for any other purpose. The Board of Directors shall establish the date, time and place of the annual seminar and annual General Membership Meeting.
  2. Voting Members as defined, present at any meeting of the General Membership shall constitute a quorum to transact any and all business brought before the membership by proper motion. A simple majority vote, unless otherwise provided in the motion, shall be sufficient to carry any motion. All votes, other than those for elective office, shall be taken by voice vote unless the motion requires a vote by secret written ballot in which case the vote shall be taken by secret written ballot.
  3. The election of the officers shall be made by ballot by a secret majority vote of the electors. All Officers and Directors shall take office immediately upon taking the oath of office at the annual banquet held at the annual seminar and General Membership Meeting.
  4. In the event of death, resignation or the inability to act of any Officer or Director, the Board of Directors shall immediately appoint any Voting Member to serve the unexpired term of the deceased, resigned or disabled Officer or Director. A vacancy in the office of the President shall be filled by the immediate succession to that office.
  5. Any Member shall be entitled to speak on the floor at any meeting of the General Membership. Only Voting Members as defined in the By-Laws shall have the right to vote upon motions, elections or any other business brought before the general membership.
  6. Dues, and the amount thereof, may be established by a majority vote of the Board of Directors. Dues shall be levied against all members in equal amount.
  7. When deemed appropriate, the Board of Directors shall have the authority to waive, suspend, adjust, or modify the existing membership dues and/or fees.
  8. The Organization’s funds shall only use the Organization and no other.
  9. Once the Organization is closed, the Organization’s funds shall be donated to a similar Organization.