Lafayette Instrument Company Cancels Converus Service Partner Agreement to Focus on Polygraph

Lafayette’s president and CEO says the company will put all commercial efforts on its core business: polygraph. Converus owes most of its initial rapid growth to polygraph examiners that have joined as authorized Service Partners to sell EyeDetect. Converus continues to partner with polygraph examiners and points out that EyeDetect is simply a different psychophysiological testing technology than polygraph. Converus urges all credibility assessment professionals to be open to scientifically validated solutions that improve the testing process.

Converus VP of Sales Neal Harris presents the EyeDetect technology to a room full of polygraph examiners at the Arizona Polygraph Conference in Chandler, AZ in March 2017.

LEHI, Utah – June 12, 2017 [UPDATED Feb. 11, 2019] – Lafayette Instrument Company, the world’s largest manufacturer of polygraph instruments, canceled its agreement effective May 17 as a Converus Service Partner to provide EyeDetect. Lafayette had been an authorized Service Partner since January 2016.

In a Jan. 19, 2016 recorded interview with Lafayette President and CEO Jennifer Rider for the press release announcing her company’s original working relationship with Converus, she stated she “knew that there had been some scientific research and studies done to help support the correlation between what’s happening with an individual’s eyes and whether they’re being truthful or deceptive.” She continued, “And there was a team of credible and reputable scientists and executives backing it.”

She then describes meeting former Converus VP of Worldwide Sales Neal Harris at an event and following up with those she knew he had spoken with at this event, including “an individual who works for Lafayette Instrument Company, another business partner of ours, and then somebody who does more science and research work in the polygraph space. And my question to all of them was pretty similar, it’s like, ‘Hey, did you hear about this? Did you see? Did you talk to Neal at this event? And the response that I got from each individual that I pinged was favorable, cautiously optimistic I would say, which was a huge endorsement because, you know, every other product component, change, accessory — everything is met with such, you know, cynicism sometimes but certainly a critical eye is kind of lent to anything that looks to be new, anything that is a proclaimed ‘game-changer’ and things like that. But I just thought it was a really good sign that these people I had trusted had such a favorable first impression.”

In this same interview she also stated, “If a new technology allows you to have a wider reach, then I see that as being a good thing. The EyeDetect technology will not cannibalize the polygraph market. Rather, it’s going to grow the market and address unmet credibility assessment needs.”

In Lafayette’s press release, Rider said, “Polygraph is our top priority, our strength, and we know that we will be able to best serve our customers by focusing on their needs and the advancement of polygraph technology.”

Due to questions Converus has received from the polygraph community regarding Lafayette’s decision, the company has issued the following official statement:

We have appreciated our association with Lafayette Instrument Company. The company has quality people and quality products. Lafayette was instrumental in introducing Converus to several key international partners.

Converus and Lafayette share the same goal: Finding the truth by providing the highest quality, scientifically validated credibility assessment solutions possible. Just like using multiple methods to verify a diagnosed medical opinion, customers benefit by having more than one deception detection technology available to validate the truth.

In today’s world, public safety and security are top-of-mind issues now more than ever. Police officers, parole and probation officers, investigators and others are overwhelmed with cases. Human resource professionals and recruiters are constantly challenged with determining which candidates are best qualified — and trustworthy. These serious decisions are made daily when screening individuals. Those tasked with protecting corporations, communities and countries need the best credibility assessment tools possible.

Both Lafayette and Converus provide such solutions to help make the world a safer place.

EyeDetect is not a polygraph, and vice-versa. Polygraph measures various psychophysiological indices; EyeDetect measures involuntary ocular motor and other behaviors. Both are viable, proven technologies. (Please see the peer-reviewed research on EyeDetect.)

EyeDetect is the world’s first nonintrusive lie detection technology that accurately detects deception in 30 minutes by analyzing eye and other behaviors. It’s also one of the first breakthroughs in effectively uncovering lies since the polygraph was invented almost 100 years ago. Since EyeDetect launched in April 2014, many polygraph examiners worldwide began to offer the product, and many more in the future will support EyeDetect.

Consider the following:

• Converus’ goal — like most polygraph examiners — is to accurately validate truth. Field tests show EyeDetect has a mean accuracy of 86 percent for guilty and innocent individuals, which is comparable to the accuracy ratings of polygraph. We refer you to the first-of-its-kind field study conducted in 2016 in the European Polygraph Journal. The Converus science team, led by Dr. John Kircher, holds itself to the highest scientific standards. This field study was no different.
  
• The same scientists that developed EyeDetect also developed the widely-used polygraph technique called the Utah Approach to the Comparison Question Test (CQT). What’s more, two members of the Converus Science Team, Drs. Kircher and David Raskin, are credited with inventing the world’s first computerized polygraph. Dr. Kircher, along with his colleague Dr. Doug Hacker, originally conceived the concept behind EyeDetect. They, and a team of three other scientists, have researched and developed this technology since 2003. Today, thanks to their efforts, EyeDetect is now a viable, commercial product.
• A polygraph exam or an EyeDetect test can be used to collect examinee responses and physiological measures. When followed by a post-test interview by a skilled examiner, better results can be obtained. There is value when an examiner performs a post-test interview after either test.
• Today, Converus has approximately 100 Service Partners worldwide. Most of these Service Partners are also trained, licensed polygraph examiners.
• Three of the four members of the Converus Advisory Board are well-known polygraph examiners, as is a member of the Converus team.
  • Don Krapohl is currently the Director of Educational Services for Capital Center for Credibility Assessment and co-authored the 2015 book, “Fundamentals of Polygraph Practice.”
  • Charles Honts, one of the foremost experts in polygraph counter measures, has published and/or presented more than 300 scientific papers on deception detection.
  • Darryl Bullens is a 16-year polygraph veteran who has personally conducted more than 8,000 criminal/governmental polygraph examinations.
  • Mark Handler, Converus director of professional services, is also an independent polygraph examiner and instructor. He has published or co-published more than 50 scientific articles on polygraph or credibility assessment.
• In 2016, Converus had 33 percent quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and owes the majority of this success to polygraph examiners that are early adopters of EyeDetect.
• For polygraph examiners with clients that need to conduct initial screenings of large groups of candidates, and/or who wish to obtain very high rates of confidence in screening candidates to be hired, EyeDetect can help with both goals.
  • Goal 1: Screen large groups quickly – EyeDetect tests take 30 minutes. Results are ready within 5 minutes.
  • Goal 2: Achieve high rates of confidence – If EyeDetect and polygraph are used in succession, they combine statistically for an outcome confidence as high as 98.9% when an examinee passes or fails both tests. Read article.
• Ultimately, we urge credibility assessment experts worldwide to use all available scientifically validated tools to better serve customers.

For more information on EyeDetect, visit www.converus.com.

# # #

About Converus^®

Converus (“with truth”) is committed to providing trustworthy credibility assessment solutions. Its flagship product, EyeDetect® is the first ocular-motor deception detection solution. It’s an accurate, cost-effective, efficient, secure and nonintrusive method that detects deception in 30 minutes by analyzing eye behavior. The same scientists credited with computerizing the polygraph in 1991 developed EyeDetect. It’s a new way for organizations to manage risk and ensure workplace integrity, and for law enforcement agencies and governments to detect deception. Ultimately, it helps protect countries, corporations and communities from corruption, fraud and threats. Converus is headquartered in Lehi, Utah. Visit www.converus.com.

_____________________________________________

Press Contact: Jeff Pizzino, APR / +1 480.606.8292