A Review on the Suspect Detection System – A Forensic Screening Tool

The fascination for understanding and deciphering human nature is not a new found fad. From witnessing the adoption of primitive methods to detect deceitful behaviour to the evolution of technology used for it, the human race has come a long way. This paper describes one such technological advancement in the field of deception detection called the Suspect Detection System (SDS) that uses the Cogito technology, henceforth called the Cogito SDS.  This forensic investigative tool applies the Electrodermal Activity (EDA), also known as the Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) – a psychophysiological measurement of the sympathetic nervous to detect deception. This forensic tool applies the process and technique of questioning called the Guilty Knowledge Test (GKT), now known as the Concealed Information Test (CIT). The application of the CIT implies that the examination focuses on eliciting any concealed information that an individual taking the test may possess but may assumably be suppressing the awareness of that knowledge. This hidden knowledge is related to the cause or case for which the individual is examined and could include facts about any person, place, or incident in question. The focus of the technology is on detecting hostile or malicious intent as opposed to detecting the means. Thus, it provides a kind of predictive analysis of an individual’s behaviour. This makes the Cogito SDS technology useful in cases of terrorism, human and drug trafficking, illegal immigration, homicide and fraud, effective. Notwithstanding, the use of the Cogito SDS presents its challenges in the detection of deception and forensic investigations.