Michael Spratt, an Ottawa-based criminal defense lawyer, says local police definitely use polygraph machines on suspects, usually as a way to compel a statement — or, if they refuse the test, they use it as the basis to lay charges.
“Even if the truth — or the magic machine’s opinion about the truth — of your answers isn’t admissible, your answers are. So it’s a good way for the police to induce a statement out of someone,” Spratt says.
Spratt says he would rarely, if ever, encourage his client to undergo a polygraph test — and police can’t compel anyone to submit to one — and can’t see the actual benefit to getting eyewitnesses or family members to take the test.
Read Justin Ling’s Full Article at: VICE NEWS
