Polygraph Unit Consulting | Program Assessment, DLC Conversion, Manual & QC Authorship

Why This Service Exists

Most polygraph units are running a program someone else designed.

Most state and local polygraph units inherited a program structure that was built decades ago, around methodologies that the polygraph research community has since improved on, and around manuals that were never updated as the science moved. The result is a working unit where the examiners are competent, the equipment is current, and the program structure is quietly out of date. Quality control may be informal. The methodology may be Comparison Question Technique without a clear posture on Directed Lie versus Probable Lie. The unit manual may live in a binder that no one has revised in twelve years.

That is the gap this service fills. The work is program-level, not examiner-level: program assessment, methodology conversion, manual authorship, quality control architecture, and the examiner training that locks all of it in. The deliverables are written. The work is confidential. The goal is a polygraph unit that an agency leader can defend, an examiner can operate inside, and a court can read without questions.

Five Service Areas

Where this consulting gets used.

Program-Level Audit

Polygraph Program Assessment

A structured assessment of an existing polygraph unit's methodology, equipment, examiner credentialing, case-flow, documentation, and quality control. Deliverable is a written assessment identifying current posture, gaps, and a prioritized remediation roadmap. Used by agency leadership making decisions about unit modernization, accreditation, or program continuation.

Methodology Reform

Methodology Conversion (DLC Deployment)

Conversion of a polygraph program from Probable Lie Comparison technique to Directed Lie Comparison technique, including the protocol documentation, examiner retraining, validation testing, and post-conversion quality control. Drawn directly from the NYSP Polygraph Unit conversion Joe led. Includes pre-employment, criminal-specific, or full-program conversion scope.

Foundational Documentation

Unit Manual Authorship

Authorship of a polygraph unit manual covering policy, procedure, examiner conduct, case intake, methodology protocol, equipment standards, examinee handling, record retention, post-test interview, and the unit's posture on every recurring decision point. Deliverable is a manual the unit can operate inside and that survives audit, accreditation review, and litigation.

Defensibility Architecture

Quality Control Architecture

A structured quality control program covering chart-quality review, scoring inter-rater reliability, case-file documentation audit, examiner peer review, and corrective-action protocol. Built so that an internal QC failure is identified by the unit, not by a defense expert at suppression. Includes the documentation standards a unit needs to defend its scoring and its conclusions under cross-examination.

Examiner-Level Training

Examiner Training and Refresher

Calibrated training for working examiners moving onto a new methodology, refresher work for examiners whose program has changed under them, and onboarding for newly-credentialed examiners joining the unit. Topics include pre-test interview discipline, chart interpretation, post-test interview, and the documentation standards that protect every case file.

The Background

A 1,200-exam-per-year program. Rebuilt from the inside.

Joe ran the New York State Police Polygraph Unit during a period when the unit conducted more than 1,200 applicant pre-employment polygraph exams per year, in addition to a steady criminal-investigation case load. The volume forced the unit to confront questions that lower-volume programs can defer: which methodology produces the most defensible results, how does a unit document examiner consistency across a high-cycle pre-employment program, and how does quality control work when no single supervisor can personally review every chart.

The answer Joe built was a conversion of the pre-employment program to Directed Lie Comparison technique, accompanied by a rewritten unit manual that formalized examiner conduct, case intake, chart-scoring standards, and post-test interview discipline. The quality control architecture that came with the conversion made the unit's work defensible at scale, and the program continued to operate inside that framework after Joe's tenure.

That program reform is the basis for the consulting service offered on this page. The work is transferable: another agency's unit, another state's caseload, another mix of pre-employment and criminal exams. The structure of the reform (methodology, manual, QC, training) is the structure of every engagement.

View Joe's Polygraph Examiner Credentials

Engagement Structures

Three structures. Scoped to the program.

Tile 1

Project-Based

Fixed scope, fixed timeline, defined deliverables. Common for single-deliverable engagements: a program assessment, a manual rewrite, a methodology conversion protocol, or a QC architecture build. Quoted as a fixed fee.

Tile 2

Retainer

Ongoing program-level advisory work for unit leadership. Common for agencies in the middle of a multi-quarter reform, accreditation preparation, or examiner-cohort onboarding. Monthly or quarterly structure.

Tile 3

Train-and-Hand-Off

A combined consulting and training engagement where Joe authors the deliverables, trains the unit's examiners and supervisors on the new framework, and then hands operational control back to the unit. Common for agencies modernizing a program without changing leadership.

How Engagements Work

From inquiry to engagement letter.

01

Initial Inquiry

Send a Brief Description

Agency, current program posture, what is driving the inquiry, and confidentiality posture. Joe responds personally within 48 hours.

02

Discovery Call

Scope the Engagement

A 20- to 30-minute call covering current methodology, examiner count, case volume, accreditation posture, and what the agency wants the program to look like at the end of the engagement.

03

Confirmation

Engagement Confirmed

Written engagement letter issued. Confidentiality terms are written in. Work begins after the engagement letter is countersigned.

Who This Is For

Three program-level scenarios. One engagement model.

Tile A

Standing Up a New Unit

An agency creating a polygraph unit from a clean slate, often inside a larger detective bureau or major-crimes structure. The engagement covers methodology selection, equipment standards, examiner credentialing pathway, manual authorship, and the QC architecture that lets the unit be defensible from its first case.

Tile B

Modernizing an Existing Unit

A unit with credentialed examiners and current equipment, where the program structure (methodology, manual, QC) is dated. The engagement covers assessment, methodology conversion if warranted, manual rewrite, and the documentation rebuild that brings the program to current standards.

Tile C

Preparing for Accreditation or Audit

A unit facing accreditation review or formal audit (state-level or association-level), where the documentation, QC, and methodology posture need to be defensible against a structured review. The engagement covers gap analysis against the accreditation standard, deliverable build, and pre-review readiness.

Scope Boundaries

Three things this service does not do.

Clear scope boundaries protect the engagement and protect the agency.

Not individual exam consultation.

This service is program-level, not case-level. Single-exam consultation, pre-test or post-test review for a specific subject, or expert review of another examiner's chart work is not part of this service.

Not expert witness work.

Joe does not accept expert-witness retainers in polygraph litigation, civil or criminal, plaintiff or defense. This is a hard policy.

Not equipment vendor advocacy.

Methodology conversion and program reform are vendor-neutral. Joe does not represent any polygraph equipment manufacturer and engagements do not include equipment-purchase recommendations beyond what the methodology requires.

Discuss the Program

Send the basics. Joe responds within 48 hours.

Tell Joe about the program. He reads every inquiry personally and responds with either a scoping-call invitation or a direct engagement scope, typically within one business day.

Thank you. Your inquiry was sent.

Your inquiry has been sent to Joe directly. You will hear back within 48 hours, often the same day. Joe reads every inquiry personally. If the matter is time-sensitive, also call (914) 489-2330.

Polygraph Unit Inquiry

Tell Joe about the program. The more detail you can share, the faster he can scope a substantive response.

Agency Name

Your Name

Title / Role

Email

Phone Optional

Service Area

Program Stage

Examiner Count

Annual Exam Volume

Timeline

Brief Description

Confidentiality Note Optional

Joe reads every request personally. No mailing-list signup, no third-party sharing.

Polygraph Consulting FAQ

Common questions from program leadership.

If your question is not below, send it through the inquiry form and Joe will answer personally.

Send Inquiry

Project work is scoped and quoted as a fixed fee. Retainer work is monthly or quarterly. Train-and-hand-off engagements combine a fixed-fee deliverable component with a defined training block. Specific rates are discussed during the discovery call, not published, because every engagement is scoped to the program.

Yes. Joe is available for engagements nationally. Travel, lodging, and related expenses are covered by the client. International engagements are considered case by case.

No. ASC does not accept expert-witness retainers in polygraph litigation. This is a hard policy.

No. Directed Lie Comparison is the methodology Joe deployed at NYSP for pre-employment work, and it carries documented advantages for that case type. Whether DLC is the right methodology for a given program depends on the program's case mix, examiner credentialing, validation posture, and the agency's litigation context. The program assessment determines that question; the conversion engagement only follows when the assessment supports it.

A pre-employment program conversion to DLC typically runs four to six months from engagement letter to fully operational conversion, including examiner retraining and the first full quality control cycle on converted exams. Criminal-program conversions and full-program conversions run longer.

Yes. Methodology conversion always requires examiner retraining and validation. The engagement includes the training block, the validation protocol, and the post-training quality control that documents examiner readiness on the converted methodology.

Yes. Authored deliverables (unit manuals, QC protocols, examiner training materials) are work-for-hire and become the agency's property upon delivery and final payment. ASC retains no ongoing license rights to agency-specific deliverables.

ASC works to the standard the agency identifies as the target accreditation framework. If the agency is targeting a specific association-level or state-level accreditation, the engagement deliverables are aligned to that framework. ASC does not represent or act as agent for any accreditation body.

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Stand up a polygraph unit the way it should have been built.