Americans and their Lie Detector Machine
In response to Green Slime's post that Americans laud our lie detctor machine:
We don't all do so. In fact, I think it is a waste of time, and rather unnecessary.
1. The results are not even admissable as evidence for or against someone in a court of law. This means that if the results of a test indicate that one is lying, the prosecutors cannot even mention it. If the results indicate that one is telling the truth, the defense cannot even mention it. At best, a result that indicates the possibility of falsehoods can only be used by investigators to continue investigating a particular suspect in the hopes of finding more concrete evidence that can be used in court.
2. On a more personal note, anyone who thinks you could be lying and wants to subject you to such a test cannot and should not be trusted, in my opinion. They are looking for evidence of guilt in you (if they thought you were telling the truth, they wouldn't even bother with the test to begin with), and in a sense they are attempting to work against your freedom or reputation. You are never under any obligation to help someone work against you in any way, whether they are police officers and detectives investigating a crime or anyone else who is actually trying to injure, maim, or kill you. If these people want to earn a "victory" against you, make them earn it the old fashioned, hard working way, I say. Protect yourself by not catering to them.
3. A lot of people do believe that the results are valid, and unfortunately this could work against you in public opinion should you choose to decline the test. Keep in mind, though, that if a detective has to resort to asking you to take a test, it is because he has no other concrete evidence against you that would indicate guilt on your part in any crime. If he did have it, he would have used it to arrest you and to prepare for your trial. Ignorant people may think you are hiding something if you won't take the test, but to hell with them. The detectives and prosecutors can't do anything to you for not taking it.
So with that in mind, we're not all fond of the lie detector tests. And you're right too... they aren't used extensively outside of the US, likely for the reasons I just stated.