UKPA CONSTITUTION
The purpose of the UKPA is to ensure that its members operate in a professional and ethical manner in all aspects of their profession. Members of the UKPA are pledged to maintain the spirit and ideals of the following stated Declaration of Principles. These principles are considered essential to continuing membership of the UKPA.
The Constitution and Articles of Association of the UK Polygraph Association
Name of the Association
The Association shall be known as the ‘UK Polygraph Association’ and all references to UKPA are to be taken as referring to this Association.
Abbreviations
AGM: | Annual General Meeting |
APA: | American Polygraph Association |
AAS: | Approved Analysing System |
BLRC: | By-Law, Regulation and Legislative Committee |
BoD: | Board of Directors (of the UKPA) |
UKPA: | United Kingdom Polygraph Association |
GDPR: | General Data Protection Regulations |
ECHR: | European Convention on Human Rights |
IPC: | Immediate Past Chairperson |
MC: | Membership Committee |
RIC: | Research and Instrumentation Committee |
SoP: | Standards of Practice |
VET: | Validated Examination Technique |
Definitions
The following definitions shall apply to this Constitution and Articles of Association:
Accredited Polygraph School
A polygraph training school recognised by the UKPA and is accredited as a Polygraph School by the APA.
Country
An independent sovereign state which is a nonphysical
juridical entity of the international legal system that is represented by one centralized government that has supreme independent authority over a geographic
area. International law defines sovereign states as having a permanent population, one government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither dependent on nor subject to any other power or state.
Polygraph Examiner:
A person who has attended an APA Accredited Polygraph School and successfully completed an approved course or formal instruction in the Detection of Deception using Psychophysical Detection of Deception techniques and is certified as an Approved, Certified or Qualified Polygraph Examiner by that school. Polygrapher and Polygraphy shall be construed accordingly.
Polygraph Instrument:
An instrument capable of recording visually, permanently and simultaneously indications of:
- A person’s cardiovascular pattern and changes therein; ii.A person’s respiratory patterns and changes therein.
- A person’s electrodermal activity reflecting the conductance or resistance of a current by the epidermal tissue and changes therein.
- An indication of the changes of a person’s other psychophysical changes or bodily activity may also be recorded.
Active Polygrapher:
A person who is a Polygrapher and is employed as such
full time or for the majority of their working time
Polygraph Test:
A Psychophysiological Detection of Deception examination using a Polygraph Instrument and a Validated Examination Technique.
Approved Scoring System:
An internationally approved system of analysing Polygraph data that has been validated and accepted as valid by the APA
Validated Examination Technique:
A polygraph examination technique which is approved by the APA and is reported on as an approved technique in the Meta Analytical Survey of Criterion Accuracy of Validated Polygraph Techniques (APA Committee
Report on Validated Techniques Polygraph Magazine
2011 Vol. 40 Number 4) or when that technique is
approved by the APA at a later date and included in their list of approved polygraph examination techniques.
An account of detail that may be stored or transmitted
verbally, electronically or by surface mail whichever is the most appropriate medium for that account.
Declaration of Principles
The purpose of the UKPA is to ensure that its members are professionally qualified and operate in a professional and ethical manner in all aspects of their profession. Members of the UKPA are pledged to maintain the spirit and ideals of the following stated Declaration of Principles. These principles are considered essential to continuing membership of the UKPA.
- To promote and maintain high standards of professional practice and conduct amongst members; to ensure that polygraphy is seen to be and ethical and honourable profession.
- To ensure the professional integrity and truthfulness of all material prepared for and that relates to any polygraph examination, process or other related matter whether for private or public use.
- To ensure that all members of the UKPA attend Continual Professional Development training and adhere to the highest standards of ethical conduct, skill, knowledge and competence in the practice of polygraphy.
- To add to the body of knowledge of scientific research into polygraph, enhancing its standing as a scientific discipline.
Code of Professional Standards
Members of UKPA are avowed to maintain the spirit and ideals of the following Code of Professional Standards and to consider them essential in their practice of polygraphy and their membership of the UKPA.
- All members shall act primarily in the public interest when practicing polygraphy and shall neither act nor induce others to act in any way which may act unfavourably towards the practice of polygraphy, the public or the UKPA. ii.All members shall observe the highest standards of integrity, accuracy and truthfulness and shall not disseminate any false or misleading information in relation to their profession of polygraphy.
- All members of the UKPA shall protect the confidences of every client and shall not reveal, divulge or otherwise disseminate any information to another without specific permission given in writing by the client. All examiners should be GDPR Registered to comply with current legislation in the UK or similar regulation within the country in which they provide polygraph services.
- A member shall not represent conflicting or competing interests without giving full disclosure to those parties concerned.
- A member shall not knowingly solicit the contracted client of another member unless the client initiates the contact.
- All members shall uphold this Code of Professional Standards, Declaration of Principles and the UKPA By-Laws and Standards of Practice. They shall cooperate with other members in doing so and bring to the attention of any member of the UKPA Board, the member concerned or any other relevant party if they have reason to believe that a member is engaging in unethical or unfair practices including any practice in violation of this code.
- All Polygraph tests shall be ECHR Compliant.
Articles of Association
UKPA Objectives
The Objectives of the UKPA are to:
- To promote and advance the use of polygraphy as a profession in the UK and worldwide.
- To promote and maintain the professional high standards of all polygraph examiners.
- To promote professional achievement and highlight the legal, responsible and ethical conduct of all UKPA examiners as an example to the polygraph profession.
- To unify all polygraph examiners worldwide within the professional standards of the UKPA.
- To provide a platform in the UK for the promotion of scientific research and discussion into all aspects of polygraphy.
- To publicise the name, professionalism and prestige of the UKPA and its member examiners.
- To interact with other international professional polygraph associations to enhance the profession.
Memberships
All members of the UKPA acknowledge and accept that membership of the UKPA is a privilege and not a right. A condition of membership is that the member accepts all of the terms and conditions as laid out in the Constitution, Articles and By-Laws. Nothing in the UKPA Constitution, Articles or By-Laws and Standards of Practice exonerates the member from complying with the National Laws, By Laws or other constitutionally required legal responsibilities of the country they are in at that time. Should there be a conflict between the two, then the National Laws, By-Laws and Standards of Practice or other constitutionally required legal responsibilities of that country shall always take precedence.
Membership Requirements, Fees and Voting Rights
Admission to any class of membership of the UKPA shall be by recommendation to the General Membership by a Member of the Board of Directors of the UKPA. Any member of the UKPA may resign their membership (in writing) to the Secretary of the UKPA at any time and without giving any reason for that resignation.The following are the minimum requirements to be accepted into that class of membership.
Full Member
- Be a member current member of the American Polygraph Association (APA).
- Is a person of good standing, free of any Criminal Conviction and not subject to any current legal or criminal proceedings in any Court of Law in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland or any other country (subject to the conditions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974). Any violation of this condition will be considered at the next AGM where the membership will be given an opportunity to vote on the candidate’s admission to the UKPA or on their continued membership. Full member’s status in the UKPA will be altered to Associate Member until that vote has taken place. There will be no refund of any fees or financial obligations paid to the UKPA.
- In employment as an Active Polygrapher. iv.Be of good standing in relation to their financial obligations to the UKPA.
- Full Members will have full voting rights on all issues voted upon by the UKPA membership.
- Full Members are eligible to hold, or to be nominated for any Office of the UKPA.
- A Full Member shall be personally responsible for all their own costs when attending any UKPA meeting
Honorary Member
- Members of the UKPA may submit to the Secretary of the UKPA the name of a person who has, in their opinion, rendered distinguished service and support to the profession. Any nominations shall be considered at the AGM by the General Membership for their approval to bestow this honorary award. The nomination shall be considered approved by a simple majority of those voting members present.
- An Honorary Member shall have no voting right on any issue voted upon by the UKPA
- An Honorary Member shall be personally responsible for all their own costs when attending any UKPA meeting.
Annual Membership Fees
- The annual fees to be paid by UK members will be voted upon by the General Membership at the Annual General Meeting.
- The Secretary and Treasurer will present to the Membership their recommendations to the level of annual fees that is recommended to ensure a fully resourced and functioning Association.
- The UKPA is to be a not for profit Association.
- Fees must be paid in a timely fashion and a fee of £30.00 will be additionally imposed to cover the time and money spent chasing the fee should a member fail to pay their annual fees within a specified time after due warning and in any case after being overdue for three calendar months from the date of request.
- Any member failing to pay their membership after three calendar months of the due date shall have their membership of the UKPA suspended until such time as the owed dues are paid in full.
- Honorary Members shall be exempt from paying an annual membership fee.
Voting Rights and Procedures
- Voting rights of members are as given in Article 2. ii.All voting issues will have a proposer and a seconder. iii. All votes have the value of one vote.
- No proxy voting or absentee voting is permitted or will be accepted at any UKPA meeting where a vote is to be taken or any vote is called for.
- A simple majority of those voting members present will be considered sufficient to pass the motion being voted on.
- How a member votes may remain secret at their wish, but the number of votes cast and distribution of votes will be given to any member of the UKPA Membership requesting the figures to show an open and ethical procedure.
- In the case of a tied vote, the Chair of the meeting will have an additional vote, in that case alone, to decide the result.
- Voting may be held in the open by a show of hands or by secret ballot. In certain exceptional circumstances, it will be possible for the election of a new member of the Board of Directors or an Officer of the UKPA to be elected by Email vote at the discretion of a simple majority of the remaining Board of Directors. Any Email vote will have an expiry date after which any vote cast will be discarded and not counted.
Duties of the BoD
Chairperson
- The Chairperson shall be elected for a period of two years commencing their duty and the end of the UKPA AGM at which they are elected or for the period of time between two consecutive UKPA Annual General Meetings, whichever comes first. They may be re-elected for a further term to a maximum of four years or until the next UKPA AGM after re-election, whichever comes first.
- The Chairperson is primarily responsible for the general supervision of the Affairs and administration on the UKPA.
- The Chairperson is responsible for the running of all elections to the Board of Directors or the Officers of the UKPA except for their position. He may delegate the coordination and implementation of the elections but remain responsible for their conduct and execution.
- The Chairperson is responsible for the authoritative statements of UKPA Policy in all matters coming to their attention.
- The Chairperson is the public face of the UKPA and responsible for the promotion and good name of the Association in the public domain.
- The Chairperson shall represent the UKPA at all official functions or delegate a suitable replacement in their place.
- Any other duties that the Membership of the UKPA vote for the Chairperson to be responsible for.
Immediate Past Chairperson (IPC)
- The IPC will remain in post until the incumbent Chairperson takes over that role.
- The IPC will be responsible for running the election of a new Chairperson.
- The IPC is responsible for carrying out any duties that the incumbent Chairperson is unable to carry out.
- The IPC will assume the duties of the Chairperson should the incumbent Chairperson be unable through ill health, resignation or any other reason to fulfil their duties. In such cases a new Chairperson will be voted for as soon as is reasonably possible.
Secretary of the UKPA
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- The Secretary is the lynchpin that keeps the UKPA running in an orderly and smooth fashion.
- The Secretary shall be elected for a period of two years commencing their duty at the end of the AGM at which they were elected. The Secretary and Treasurer will be elected in alternate years to ensure a continuity of process.
- They are responsible for all entries into the proper books of resolutions, minutes and other proceedings of the UKPA.
- The Secretary shall produce and distribute minutes of all UKPA meetings to the membership in a timely fashion and in any case within one month of the meeting being held. This distribution may be given as a link to the UKPA website where the minutes are posted.
- The Secretary is responsible for all official correspondence relating to the UKPA.
- The Secretary shall keep a record of all members of the UKPA and shall annually publish a membership list and their membership status. The Secretary shall also ensure that any member of the UKPA who wishes to have their details and other information shown on the Association website is afforded that opportunity.
- The Secretary shall perform any other duty which is reasonably expected to be performed by the Secretary of an Association.
Treasurer of the UKPA
- The Treasurer is a responsible position and one that if not properly undertaken may cause the Association financial instability or to be dissolved.
- The Treasurers primary responsibility is the correct accounting of all monies of the UKPA.
- The Treasurer is responsible for the collection of all annual membership fees or other monies owed to the UKPA by its Members.
- The Treasurer shall be elected for a period of two years commencing their duty at the end of the AGM at which they were elected. The Treasurer and Secretary will be elected in alternate years to ensure a continuity of process.
- The Treasurer will have the accounts of the UKPA audited once a year by a qualified Auditor.
- The Treasurer is responsible for all funds and securities of the Association and accounting for them to the Membership.
- The Treasurer shall keep accurate, up to date and legible records of all the financial dealings of the UKPA which shall be made available to any of the Membership upon request.
- The Treasurer will keep accurate records of all receipts, disbursements and other financial dealings and pay all bills in a prompt and timely way without incurring any costs for the late payment of any bill. ix.The Treasurer is required to adhere to any regulation concerning the accounting of an Association that may be enacted.
- The Treasurer will present the latest set of audited accounts to the Membership as part of the UKPA AGM; those audited accounts must be dated not more than three months prior to the date of the AGM. They will also give a financial health report to the Chairperson as and when requested and report without delay to the Chairperson if they foresee or suspect that there are any concerns about the UKPA’s financial situation.
- The Treasurer will automatically be a part of any committee that has any financial implications to the UKPA.
Membership Committee
The Membership Committee (MC) is responsible for maintaining a uniformly high standard of UKPA membership entry qualifications. They shall ensure that all applicants are eligible to hold the class of membership they are applying for and that there are no disqualifying reasons for that person not to be admitted as a member of the UKPA. The MC is required to examine all Certificates that relate to the applicant’s application to join the UKPA. The MC is responsible for the timely processing of all applications to the UKPA and notifying the
General Membership of each new applicant request to become a member of the UKPA. Any Member shall in have the right to request a review of any application for Membership being granted as long as they notify the MC within ten days of being informed of the application, giving in writing the reason for their request. There are no required numbers of members of the MC.
By-Law, Regulation and Legislative Committee
The By-Law, Regulation and Legislative Committee (BLRC) shall be responsible for reviewing, proposing and implementing any changes to the UKPA’s By-Law’s and Regulations. The BLRC will circulate any proposed changes to any By-Law or Regulation at least 60 days before an AGM so that it can be considered by the Membership before any enactment. They are also responsible for representing the UKPA’s interests in any proposed legislation or amendments to any existing legislation that affects or has an impact upon the polygraph profession. It is recognised that some International Members of the UKPA may not always be able to abide by legislation enacted in the UK or ROI or the Constitution, Articles of Association and By-Laws of the UKPA. Consideration is given to them to derogate their responsibilities under strict rule of the UK and ROI legislation or UKPA Constitution, Articles of Association or By-Laws as long as this derogation does not have the effect of bringing this Association or Polygraphy into disrepute.
Nominations and Election of Officers
Officers of the UKPA and Members of the Board shall be elected annually at the AGM with the exception of The Secretary and The Treasurer who will be elected on an alternating basis every two years. Any Full, Associate or International Member may nominate a candidate for any elected position or vote for any nominated candidate. A member may nominate themselves and may decline any request from another member to be nominated for an elected positon.
Voting procedures
- Any Full or Associate Member who has the right of abode or to work in the UK & ROI shall be eligible for Election to the BoD or as an Officer of the UKPA with the exceptions as detailed in Article III.
- Voting shall be by roll call of the Secretary who will act as Chairperson of all the UKPA election processes and be responsible for calling them to order.
- Proxy or absentee voting will not be recognised at any meeting of the UKPA.
- Where there is a single nomination to a post, there shall be a show of hands of those present to decide the vote with a simple majority carrying the motion.
- If there are multiple nominations to a post, the nomination will be carried by a simple majority or by the two members with the highest number of votes in the first ballot going into a second ballot with the simple majority vote deciding the winner. In these cases, the ballot will be by secret vote.
- The Secretary will record the voting numbers in an appropriate written record for perusal by the membership at any time.
Research and Instrumentation Committee
There will, when possible, be a Research and Instrumentation Committee (RIC). That Committee will responsible for researching and presenting to the Membership any developments in Polygraph techniques, hardware and software which they the Membership need or would like to be informed about to keep their professional knowledge current. The Committee will be responsible for evaluating and recommending which developments are worthy of further consideration by the members.
Board of Directors, Officers and Committees of the UKPA
Board of Directors
The Board of Directors (BoD) is the overarching body with responsibility for the day to day running of the UKPA. It shall consist of the elected post holders of the UKPA and elected Officers of the UKPA. If a post is vacant, then that place on the Board shall remain unfilled until it has an incumbent. The number of positions on the Board may change from time to time as the number of UKPA Members fluctuates. There shall be three positions that must be filled at all times, The Chairman, Secretary and the Treasurer. All members of the BoD shall be Full Members of the UKPA.
Members of the Board of Directors
The following shall be the members of the Board of Directors of the UKPA:
Chairperson (if available)
Immediate Past Chairperson (if available)
Secretary (essential)
Treasurer (essential)
Leaders of the Standing Committees if elected
A Member the BoD or an Officer of the UKPA may be removed from their position only if a motion to remove is proposed and seconded and after due debate two thirds of the members vote in favour of the resolution. This vote may be held at an AGM or an Extraordinary General Meeting or by Email vote in extremis.
Responsibilities of the Board of Directors
- The BoD is responsible for the running and direction of the business of the UKPA.
- The BoD is responsible for the Objectives and Policies of the UKPA and monitoring the progress of the UKPA towards those goals. The BoD will publish those Objectives and Policies for information of the membership at least two months before the next Annual General Meeting.
- The BoD is responsible for accounting for the UKPA’s activities to the relevant parties (the members).
- The BoD must follow the Constitution, Articles of Association and By-Laws and Standards of Practice at all times, unless there is an acknowledgement and agreement by the Membership that the terms and conditions as laid out in the Constitution, Articles and By-Laws and Standards of Practices are at odds with what should be happening and vote to amend the regulation.
- The BoD has sole authority of applying any disciplinary actions against a member. It has the authority to give a private or public admonishment to the member or to suspend, revoke or terminate the membership of the UKPA if they have been found to be guilty of any infringement of the Declaration of Principles, Code of Professional Standards or By-Laws and Standards of Practice of the UKPA. Any decision to discipline a member of the UKPA must be voted upon and agreed on by at least three quarters of the BoD. Any disciplinary decision must be recorded with the reason why that decision was made and why the sanction was applied. All cases will be reported to the General Membership at the next AGM.
- The BoD will elect the Leaders of the Standing Committees.
- The BoD shall receive no remuneration for fulfilling their role on the UKPA BoD, only the thanks of the Members.
Parliamentary Authority
- The Parliamentary Authority for the UKPA shall be Roberts Rules of Order. For further information see robertsrules.org.
- The Order of Business for all UKPA meetings shall be as follows:
- Roll Call
- Reading of the Minutes of the Previous Meeting
- Vote on Acceptance of the Previous Minutes
- Communications
- Reports of the Officers and Committees
- Unfinished Business
- Disciplinary Hearings
- New Business
- Review of Accounts
- Vote on acceptance of the Accounts
- Miscellaneous
- Any other business
- Adjournment and date of next meeting
UKPA Publications and Website
The UKPA website will promote the work and ethos of the UKPA and its members and give guidance and confidence to those members of the public who require the services of a member of the UKPA.
- The UKPA will maintain a website.
- The website will contain, but is not limited to, the following pages of information:
- A member’s page showing a list of all the current Members of the UKPA detailing their name, nationality, a link to the individuals’ websites and their contact details. It will be the responsibility of the individual members to inform the UKPA of any change in their recorded details. The list will be split to show those who are UK & ROI members and those who are International members. The UKPA will not be held responsible in any court or other jurisdiction for any missed business due to a lack of current information of the member.
- A home page promoting the UKPA and its work in the UK & ROI with links to other relevant worldwide organisations that are.
- A page outlining the polygraph test process.
- A page outlining what the client should look for in an examiner and relevant questions to ask.
- A page showing the current Constitution of the UKPA.
- A page to contact the UKPA. vii.A page giving or linking to a UKPA membership application form. viii.
- A ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ page giving answers to questions that the public often ask about polygraphy and the test process
- No member may advertise their business on the UKPA website with the exception of having their details on the members’ page.
- The website will be maintained by a BoD approved and competent webmaster and the funds for the website will be paid for by the UKPA.
- All content on the website will be regularly scrutinised to ensure it meets current standards of legality and decency and any member who posts any offensive or otherwise illegal or defamatory material will be immediately suspended from the UKPA pending an investigation by the G&EC
Dues, Monies and Assessments
- All UK members except Honorary Members shall pay a yearly membership fee to cover the expenses and running costs of the UKPA; this fee will be set by the membership at the AGM with a simple majority of those present carrying the motion.
- The membership fee is an annual subscription which will become due on the 1st January of each year.
- The BoD many exceptionally levy an additional fee for any reason but which may only be required to be paid after being voted on and carried by a simple majority of the total present voting members of the UKPA.
Ongoing Training
All UK & ROI members must keep themselves up to date with the latest and most modern methods and techniques in the Detection of Deception. Members must attend 30 hours of authorised ongoing training every two years, at their own expense to fulfil this requirement. Al members of the APA require this to maintain their membership of that Association.
Law and Jurisdiction
This Constitution or in the Articles of Association shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English Law and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts to which all parties and members hereby submit.
By-Laws and Standards of Practice of the UK Polygraph Association
Statement of Purpose
It is the position of the UKPA that a polygraph test, properly administered by a well-trained and competent polygraph examiner using a Validated Testing Technique has a high degree of accuracy. The UKPA has the minimum Standards of Practice which are listed below; this list is not exhaustive and may be altered at any time.
By-Laws and Standards of Practice
- The examiner shall make on all occasions reasonable efforts to make sure that the person is suitable for testing. Basic enquiries into the health and psychological wellbeing of the examinee must be part of the pre-test.
- No test should be conducted where there is a valid reason to doubt the truthfulness of the subject in these matters or where there is doubt in the mind of the examiner about the subject’s suitability to be tested. Where allowed by law, the examiner shall ask the subject about their recent medical and psychological history.
- No polygraph test will be administered without the use of a computerised polygraph instrument; the software programme associated with the instrument shall be newer than three years old.
- No polygraph test shall be administered without the use of a working motion sensor or other approved method of detecting movement countermeasures.
- All polygraph tests shall have a continuous recording of the physiological changes that the subject undergoes on the recorded polygraph channels during the test which can be printed during or after the test.
- No opinion of a person’s truthfulness shall be given if there is or appears to be a malfunction of the polygraph instrument.
- Only a validated test format shall be used on any polygraph test conducted by a UKPA Member.
- A member shall not render a conclusive diagnosis of the test when there is insufficient test data or the data collected is not sufficiently clear for evaluation to render such a decision.
- For a test to be considered complete there must be a minimum of three charts for each test run. No opinion can be given if less than three charts are completed and it will be considered a serious breach of this Standard if an examiner does not, without a good and valid reason, complete three charts and gives a test result to the client.
- An examiner shall, prior to the test give sufficient time to the preparation of the test to help identify any issues that may affect the process.
- The examiner shall obtain the consent of the examinee prior to conducting the test.
- The examiner must, during the pre-test ensure that all questions asked by the examinee are answered to their satisfaction and that no misleading or false information is given.
- The examiner must ensure that the meanings they give to each word in the pre-test are those which the examinee understands and agrees to be the same so that there is no misunderstanding and therefore an incorrect result given. xiv.Where there is doubt about the examinees understanding of the language of the examiner, the test should not take place until either a suitable interpreter is present or an examiner who speaks the same language conducts the test.
- All material collected during the process must be kept, stored or destroyed in accordance with the relevant legislation of that country.
- Members shall employ an ASS for interpreting and evaluating the polygraph charts.
- Any decision given will be based solely on the polygraph data collected during the In-test phase of any examination process.
- No member shall knowingly submit or allow to be submitted a false or misleading polygraph test report.
- All members shall at all times respect the rights and dignity of all examinees. Any proven breach of this Standard will be considered a serious breach of this Standard and the member will be immediately suspended pending a disciplinary hearing.
- No member shall solicit or accept any gratuity in any form that is intended to influence their decision, opinion or report of the polygraph test.
- All fees that are charged for the test must be told to the client prior to the test taking place to prevent it being seen as an inducement to alter the test result in favour of the examinees wishes.
- No UKPA member shall, knowingly, re-test a subject already tested by another member with questions that could contradict the result of the original test.
Amendments to the Constitution and Articles of Association
Nothing in this Constitution or in the Articles of Association will prevent it being altered or amended by the BoD after appropriate consultation with the membership of the UKPA.