National association of Polygraph Specialists

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An interview with Ken Blackstone of NAPS - National Association of Polygraph Specialists

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RALPH: Hi Ken, let's start with the basics. What
exactly is NAPS?

KEN: NAPS is an abbreviation for the National
Association of Polygraph Specialists in Sex
Offender Testing & Monitoring. It is a small
organization that is made up of polygraph examiners
who specialize in what is often called Post
Conviction Sex Offender Testing or PCSOT.

Jimmy Morris in Knoxville, Tn, Chris Ballard in
Jacksonville, Fl and Rob Lundell in Medford, Oregon
founded the organization in 1993. Jimmy is
currently president and I am the
secretary-treasurer.

RALPH: Before we talked, I had heard from others that
NAPS was no longer in existence, or inactive or
something. What's the deal with that?

KEN: I'm glad you asked that because there are a lot of
people in the polygraph profession who might have
the same thought. Maybe I should give you a little
history. In the seventies and eighties, post
conviction testing of substance abusers and sex
offenders became very popular, especially on the
west coast. A few exceptional examiners like Rob
made an impression on therapists and polygraph
testing became part of the sex offender treatment
model.

As it got bigger and bigger, Jimmy, Chris and Rob
put their heads together and came up with NAPS.

RALPH: So when these examiners started NAPS, was it part
of the American Polygraph Association?

KEN: No, I'm afraid that in '93 there were no
organizations that were interested in where this
kind of testing was headed and that is why NAPS was
really formed.

Ralph, I personally have been an examiner since
1980 and did my first clinical exam in 1992. Around
92 or 93, any examiner who made it through EPPA
could see that the popularity of post conviction
testing was similar to the way it had been with
commercial pre-employment and periodic testing.

Sex offender testing is extremely beneficial to the
community, so NAPS was founded to keep things from
getting out of hand. We set some pretty high
standards for practice and education.

RALPH: But the APA requires PCSOT certification right? I
mean we often advertise for polygraph schools who
offer that training.

KEN: That's right. And one of the basic requirements for
NAPS membership is APA membership. We also have
some high standards of practice and education that
no one else has.

RALPH: I see. So is there some sort of battle going on
between the APA and NAPS regarding standards for
PCSOT certification?

KEN: Far from it. Like I said, we are all APA members.
To put it simply, NAPS is more concerned with
quality control. In the late '90's, NAPS became a
specialized division of the APA with the agreement
that NAPS requirements for Quality Control and
education would be followed.

That is why it seemed that NAPS was inactive. The
examiners were just waiting to see if that
agreement would be followed. It hasn't been, so we
are re-fueling our jets. Our first annual seminar
is to be held in April in Ft. Lauderdale.

RALPH: Okay, so NAPS is getting back into the swing of
working for good Quality Control in PCSOT Testing.
How can those examiners in this testing arena find
out more about the seminar and how to renew or
apply for NAPS membership?

KEN: We just got our new website up and running. We are
in the process of loading the website with great
resources and information, but currently, we are
focused on building a contact list and preparing
for the seminar, so please excuse the website dust
as we build.

Just visit http://www.polygraphspecialists.org.

In a few weeks we will list more details about the
seminar, but for now it looks like Kim English
from Colorado will be speaking about the
Containment Approach and emphasizing the need for
quality control. As soon as I know our other
speakers I will get it out to the public.

RALPH: Thanks Ken. I really appreciate your time.

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