Wigan benefit cheats could soon face Town Hall lie detectors - and potential law breakers may have no idea that the devices are being used against them.
Fifteen councils across England will be used as part of an extended pilot for the new computer based Voice Risk Analysis (VRA) technology.
And claimants attempting to defraud the tax payer by making false claims may unwittingly find themselves tak
ing part in a polygraph-style test by telephone.
The software programme claims to be able to detect stress patterns – such as hesitation or changing of answers – in the voices of callers to indicate whether they might be lying.
The Metro's benefit claim department confirmed today that, if approached, it will give "very serious thought" to taking part in the test scheme. A spokesman said: "We have not yet been a party to any discussions about bringing in such equipment in Wigan. But we do know about it along with this new pilot programme.
"Clearly, the use of lie detectors by a council is a new ball game and we would need more information before we made any decisions over it but we would certainly look at the idea seriously because we take our responsibilities in cutting benefit fraud extremely seriously."
The Department for Work and Pensions, who will be funding the trial programme, say that initial tests have already been "positive and encouraging" aswell as making it quicker and easier to process genuine claims.
VRA technology spots changes in a caller's voice enabling trained operators to decide whether a call is high or low risk and what further action to take.
Initial results, claim the DWP, have shown that the risk-ratings made using VRA have been successful.
Of the cases rated as high risk, an estimated thirty per cent
identified a change that we wouldn't have otherwise known about.
Jobcentre Plus is also undertaking its own test activity. However, critics of the technique claim analysing the voice alone is not an effective way to detect lying.
A spokesman for the DWP said: "This cutting edge technology can be used to stop criminals and is a unique weapon in the fight against benefit fraud.
"The majority of people who receive benefits are entitled to them, however there is a minority who will still try to steal money from those who are most vulnerable.
"We need to continue to do more to make sure that taxpayers' money always goes to those who need it the most."
Calls are handled by operators trained in intelligent questioning. The VRA technology is then used to support the operator's analysis.
The full article contains 439 words and appears in Wigan Evening Post newspaper.
