Screening Applicants Can Help Police Protect the Community They Serve

Better screening of potential police can help protect the community.

By Leesa Bingham, Marketing –

Former police officer Mathew Riley recently received a 21-month federal prison sentence for transferring obscene material to a 15-year-old minor, according to the District of Rhode Island Attorney’s Office. In 2015 and 2016 while he was in contact with the minor, he was an employee of the Narragansett Police Department. Riley admitted in 2019 to having sent sexually explicit content, including videos of himself, to the minor while claiming to be a 29-year old Navy physical therapist named Chris. In addition to serving time in prison, Riley is being required to register as a sex offender.

It is essential for communities to have trustworthy law enforcement and to be able to rely upon the police to interact with the community in professional ways. A new technology called EyeDetect®, which is already being used by law enforcement in some states, can detect the integrity of employees and potential employees. Using a scanner that takes measurements of the iris while a person answers a series of yes or no questions, EyeDetect can detect lies with up to 90% accuracy. This allows police departments that adopt the technology to screen potential employees for past, present, and in some cases future, involvement in illegal activities. Had the Narragansett Police Department used EyeDetect in their hiring process and routinely in their department, the department likely would have rooted out untrustworthy employees before an inappropriate encounter like this occurred and damaged the public’s trust.

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Photo by /Gerd Altmann