The Relevant Issue - #133 -Don Krapohl runs for APA President

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The Relevant Issue
http://www.polygraphplace.com

Special Annoucement Issue #133 - July 11, 2006

Relevant Issue Archives:
http://www.polygraphplace.com/articles

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IN THIS ISSUE:

1. APA ELECTION: "Don Krapohl - Candidate for APA President

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1. APA ELECTION: "Don Krapohl - Candidate for APA President

Editor Note: The election is coming up quickly, so I
wanted to get this article out announcing Don's candidacy
for APA president. Also, I am deeply supportive of what
he hopes to do for our PROFESSION in his "Long View".

Ralph Hilliard - Polygraph Place

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'The Long View'

Donald Krapohl
Candidate for APA President

For readers who are APA members, you are aware that the
Association will hold its annual elections at the upcoming
seminar in Las Vegas. This election year promises to be an
interesting contest for the Presidency. TV O’Malley, the
incumbent, is running for a second term. I have also
chosen to run for the position, for reasons that I will
outline in this article. My candidacy is based on a simple
idea: we must follow the professional model if we are to
break free from the historical problems we face. I will
lay out this idea in this article with hope that the APA
readership will understand why we are in need of a course
correction.

For those who are less familiar with my name, permit me a
moment to hit a few of the high points of my career. This
is not simply an exercise in self-promotion, but to help
the reader understand the factors that influenced this
candidate’s perspective over the years.

I graduated from an APA-accredited polygraph school in
Atlanta in March, 1979, and joined the APA later that
year. Beginning in 1979 I was an examiner in private
practice in St. Louis, Missouri, working for an
international investigative firm conducting testing for
law enforcement and private clients. I conducted pro bono
work for the St. Louis County Major Case Squad, testified
on polygraph results in court and arbitration cases, and
was elected as the President of the Missouri Polygraph
Association in 1984. I rose to the position of the firm’s
chief examiner before leaving for federal service in 1985
where I have remained since. In 1997 I accepted an
assignment as a researcher, then senior manager at the US
government’s prestigious polygraph research and
educational institute. I am tentatively slated for
reassignment to Washington DC in August.

Over the course of my career I have been blessed with good
assignments and exceptional role models that have prepared
me for greater responsibility in the profession, and given
me a vantage point afforded to but a few. The experiences
have been both broad and deep. I have briefed Senate and
Congressional staffers on polygraph and voice stress
issues, hosted visits by international government
representatives, crafted responses to federal legislative
inquiries, met with media representatives interested in
the polygraph and related technologies, and even made an
invited address at a National Science Foundation
conference regarding polygraph screening. I helped draft
the scientists’ charge given to the National Academy of
Sciences in 2001 when they undertook the evaluation of the
polygraph screening process. I have published more than 50
educational, research, and informational articles on the
polygraph and other credibility assessment technologies,
some of which have become standard references, and I have
given countless presentations to professional polygraph
associations in the US and Latin America. Chances are, if
you are a polygraph examiner and have been to a seminar,
I have shaken your hand and we’ve talked polygraph. I have
also been the recipient of many awards from the American
Polygraph Association and the American Society for Testing
and Materials (ASTM). From 1997 through 2001, I was the
APA’s Editor-in-Chief where I upgraded the appearance of
the publications, and produced first-ever special editions
on chart interpretation and sex offender testing. It was
also during that time that I proposed to the Board the
Bill Yankee Scholarship to underwrite the expenses to
attend an APA accredited polygraph school to a worthy
candidate, which was adopted and has been awarded annually
since. I have authored numerous articles on polygraph best
practices, the first undertaking of its kind. My published
works on scoring and decision rules are well known.

The logical question is: Why is this relevant to the
office of the APA Presidency? It is because I believe the
Association is positioned like no time in recent history
to make great strides on many fronts; if only we made
decisions in a more strategic way than we have in recent
years. Our current Board has not been given a strategic
plan from which to work, leading to missteps by and
frustration for Board members, all of whom have dedicated
themselves to the difficult challenges of moving the
profession forward. Good intentions have not been given
the framework necessary to achieve the strategic
objectives because they have not been identified. A
strategic vision has been replaced by something else,
something less, a fact that keeps the profession in a
holding pattern rather than moving it forward. We must
insist on leadership who will reduce the mindset of the
“polygraph industry” in favor of the “polygraph
profession.” In the next section I will better explain the
differences, and why the latter will help us correct our
course.

Industry vs Profession

There are two principal models that the Association could
adopt. One is the industry model, and the other is the
professional model. The industry model is traditionally
preferred by the trades: carpenters, factory workers,
road construction, etc. This model focuses on
compensation, efficiency, and technical skills. Another
model is the professional model, which is keener on
improving the quality of service it provides to society,
and boosts its financial and public standing as a result
of those values. For example, there is a fast food
industry, a trucking industry, a chemical industry, but
there is a legal profession, a medical profession, and I
hope agreement, a polygraph profession. The contrast
between these two makes it clear that we are better off to
pursue the professional model.

So, you might ask, what kind of APA decisions have not
adopted the professional model? Consider these examples
from the last few years.

1. In 2001 it was widely reported in the media that the
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) would review the
evidence on polygraph screening, and issue a report. For
those familiar with NAS reports, they are scrupulously
prepared reviews that become primary references for
legislatures, policymakers, the media, scientists, even
foreign countries. At a national level they shape the
discourse on a subject for decades to follow. The NAS held
a series of open meetings for 18 months to obtain
information on which to base the final report. The APA did
not send an officer, a representative, or even an observer
to any of those meetings. The critics were there, though.
The Association missed a once-in-a-generation chance to
affect public policy and perception on the polygraph
profession. The professional model would not have
neglected such an important opportunity.

2. The National Science Foundation (NSF) held open
meetings in June, 2005, to discuss research priorities
that included the polygraph. In March, 2006, a meeting was
held at Maastricht University in the Netherlands to
discuss the future of the polygraph in Europe. In April,
2006, the annual seminar of the American Association of
Police Polygraphists (AAPP) was held. Of the three
opportunities, the APA sent representation to only the
AAPP, and it sent two APA Board members. Considering that
the NSF and Maastricht conferences had long-term
implications for the profession, it is unclear why a
representative could not have been sent there, too. Again,
the professional model was not followed.

3. It is my sad duty to say something most of us already
know: the most thorough and complete information on
anything polygraph can be found on an anti-polygraph site.
The anti site is updated almost constantly, focusing on
only the negative information. The APA site is updated
only periodically, and carries far less information. As I
write this, the President’s Message on the APA website is
from Jack Consigli who left that office nearly a year ago.
If there were ever a medium to carry the APA message to
the most number of people, it is the APA website. While
the APA website remains under-exploited, the APA has
embarked on a pubic relations campaign that will cost up
to $100,000 in the first year alone. No one has proposed
how we would measure success for this endeavor. There has
been scarce reporting from the leadership for what is the
single most costly program in nearly 20 years. If you
contact your APA representatives you will find that even
most Board members have been kept in the dark. The
project is best described as an open-ended experiment
with no way of knowing if it worked. Other professions do
pursue public relations, but none that would risk 10% of
its long-term treasury each year as the APA is doing. The
effort was well-intended, but it has both neglected the
long-term financial implications while overlooking other
important opportunities that were more affordable and
measurable. And accountability to the membership has been
missing.

4. There have been extraordinary events in recent times
that bode well for the profession. The Washington Post
reported a couple months ago that the polygraph
successfully identified a senior executive in the CIA who
had been leaking classified information. Two months ago,
APA member Bob Drdak received national attention for a
polygraph examination he conducted that exonerated one of
the accused Duke University lacrosse players in a
notorious rape case. Also, the Russian Space Forces
recently announced that they were introducing the
polygraph as a tool in selecting candidates. This positive
publicity did not require a public relations firm, and it
should be held up to members and the media as examples of
what the polygraph can do for the public good. The
polygraph successes listed above did not prompt any press
releases on the APA website, any comments from the
leadership, or any evidence of an attempt to use this free
opportunity. The APA Magazine, which is designed to inform
members of significant events, is due in early July. The
front cover merely announces the sale of the APA challenge
coin, a coin used in drinking games. The coins are
popular, but the professional model would have had
different publicity priorities.

Have there been good strategic decisions from the APA? Of
course there have, because we have a number of very
competent and dedicated members on the Board. What is
missing is the strategic vision that helps to set
priorities and coordination for the APA’s undertakings. As
we approach the coming elections I would ask APA members
to be mindful of the language preferred by the many
candidates. If it is exclusively “polygraph profession,”
you can be more confident that the candidate knows the
difference.

One Member – One Vote

For over 30 years the APA leadership has been elected by
the members in attendance at the annual seminar rather
than by all its members. This was probably a reasonable
compromise in the late 1960s, when a much-smaller APA was
first formed. The Association is now international with
members in well over two dozen countries spread across the
globe. Electoral reform is long overdue.

As currently practiced, the typical winner of any elected
office has been chosen by about 9% of the entire
membership. Another 8% voted against the candidate, and
the remaining 83% never had the opportunity to cast a
ballot because they were unable to attend the meeting.
This is unfair on its face, and lends itself, right or
wrong, to perceptions of a “good old boy system.”
Organizations that use methods like those of the APA have
often experienced fundamental problems with its
leadership: entrenched power and resistance to reform.
The way other professional organizations have avoided
these problems is to extend voting privileges to all
members in good standing. Elections are held by mail or
over the Internet, and they are completed well before the
seminar. This method reduces the strong advantage held by
the incumbency, it introduces true democracy to the
elections, it works toward more transparency, and it
brings in fresh ideas. It also makes more training time
available at the annual seminar that would otherwise be
taken for elections.

Quality of APA Membership

All of these high ideals are important, but attention must
also be given to more routine issues. For example, I
think it important to find a way to facilitate the offline
exchange of ideas at APA seminars, such as having nightly
hospitality rooms, where examiners can have exchanges in
small groups in an informal setting. To dispel the
appearance of reciprocity, I would ask for a moratorium on
the nomination of a sitting Board member for any award
other than the President’s Award. I would hold all Board
members responsible for providing a timely response to
calls, letters and e-mails from members.

The Long View: Final Remarks

The offices of vice president and director have seen some
of the most energetic officers the profession has. With a
leader who embraces the principles of vision, commitment
and accountability, and who introduces a strategic
perspective, the Association could look back a decade from
now with pride for having overcome what previously had
been considered intractable challenges. With vision,
commitment and accountability from the Association’s
president, the tremendous talent we have on and off the
Board can be brought to bear in resolving the many unmet
needs of the members: from public relations to polygraph
schools, best practices to licensure, grievances to
distance learning to specialty certification and more.

I believe that we live in the most opportune of times, and
if we are prepared to take the long view, to look beyond
the “way we’ve always done it” we can achieve those things
that are of most importance the members.

While I will be a tireless advocate for the profession, I
have no wish to be a career Board member. If elected I
will set my sights on righting the course of the
Association, and will pass the reigns to the next
President at the end of the term. This is how professional
organizations do it, and as President I would set the
example.

No President can do it alone. I have found candidates for
office who share these values, and agreed to assist doing
the important work that lies ahead. They have promised me
two things: they would take the long view in all Board
decisions, and that they would challenge me when
necessary to keep the path straight. This is the character
I want to serve with me, to be willing to be true to the
principle rather than to the person. I therefore ask the
APA members to also give their votes to Dan Sosnowski,
Nate Gordon, Donnie Dutton, and Jamie McCloughan.
My e-mail address is in the APA directory for those who
want to discuss these issues more.

In inviting me to write this article, Mr. Hilliard
suggested that I keep my comments under 2500 words. I will
honor his request. For those with more interest, please
see my website at:
http://www.polygraphsecrets.com/apa/president.htm.

I ask for your vote at the APA election, and I look
forward to seeing you at the seminar. For all of my
friends across the world who are fighting the good
fight, Godspeed.

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