The statutory framework governing polygraph examination in the United Kingdom.
Two Acts of Parliament provide the statutory basis for mandatory polygraph testing in England and Wales: the Offender Management Act 2007 (ss.28–30) and the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (s.76). Under these provisions, polygraph examination may be imposed as a licence condition on specified categories of offenders released from custody.
Administration of the statutory polygraph testing regime sits with His Majesty's Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The BPS is a membership body for polygraph examiners and does not hold a statutory or regulatory role under this legislation.
Introduced mandatory polygraph testing as a licence condition for sex offenders released from custody. Established the first statutory basis for polygraph use in UK criminal justice.
Read more Act of Parliament — 2021Extended mandatory polygraph testing to domestic abuse perpetrators on licence, significantly broadening the legal scope of polygraph use in the UK justice system.
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