KINGSTON, NY — The Ulster County Sheriff’s Office announced earlier this month the graduation of polygraph examiner school for the first two members in the agency’s history.
Detective Lt. Abram Markiewicz and Detective Gary Wells completed polygraph examiner training at the Northeast Counterdrug Training Center at Fort Indiantown Gap in Annville, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 2, the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday.
The nationally recognized program is administered by the Pennsylvania National Guard and the Northeast Counterdrug Taskforce, authorities said.
The 12-week residency program offers “intensive graduate-level study of topics necessary to properly administer polygraph tests, including anatomy, physiology, psychology, scientific validation methods, research, interviewing, legal requirements and accepted industry procedures for proper testing,” police said.
Ulster County Sheriff Juan Figueroa said this will provide additional benefits to law enforcement agencies in Ulster County and surrounding areas as they will now be better able to detect fraud during investigations. These two examiners will administer the agency’s pre-employment tests, reducing costs to county taxpayers compared to the previous practice of using an outside contractor, he added.
Figueroa said the sheriff’s office will also provide these services to other law enforcement agencies in Ulster County that have previously had to rely on state police, as, with few exceptions, they are the only law enforcement agency in the area that has available polygraph examiners.
“A polygraph program at the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office enhances our investigative capabilities and increases accuracy and transparency in criminal investigations,” Figueroa said in a statement. “It enables immediate, reliable assessments that can help distinguish truth from deception, ultimately leading to stronger cases and increasing public trust. I commend Detective Lieutenant Markiewicz and Detective Wells for volunteering to lead this first program and complete the rigorous course to become a certified polygraph operator.”
The program is funded by proceeds from drug and asset seizures and allows students to participate free of charge, with only minimal costs to parent authorities, police said.
