South Bay
Police to Get State-of-the-Art Voice Analyzer
The Torrance Police Department will soon obtain a state-of-the-art voice analyzer that police say will enable them to determine quickly whether a suspect is lying.
The Torrance City Council has appropriated $10,650 for the truth verification device, known as a CVSA or computer stress voice analyzer, making Torrance the second city in Los Angeles County to have such a system.
“This is not a polygraph or so-called lie detector,” said Sgt. Gil Kranke, one of the Torrance police officers who will be trained to operate the machine. Unlike a polygraph, which must be hooked up to a person and analyzes data based on pulse, the analyzer can be used without the suspect’s knowledge, and studies variations in voice patterns to determine if the person is lying.
The device’s uses are limited, however; it can be used to help weed out suspects, but the results cannot be used in court.
“It is an excellent investigative tool,” said Detective Craig Ratliff of the Burbank Police Department, the only police agency in Los Angeles County that now has the voice analyzer. “It has helped us focus our man-hours and helped keep us from wasting time on a suspect who is innocent.”
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