Domestic Abuse Act 2021: UK Polygraph Pilot Programme

Royal Assent and Legislative Scope

The Domestic Abuse Bill passed both Houses of Parliament and was signed into law on 29 April 2021 [1]Verified Domestic Abuse Act: Factsheet
Confirms the Domestic Abuse Bill was signed into law on 29 April 2021 and outlines key provisions including polygraph testing. The Act represents the most comprehensive piece of domestic abuse legislation ever passed in England and Wales, creating a statutory definition of domestic abuse that encompasses not just physical violence but also emotional, coercive or controlling, and economic abuse [2]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Confirms the Act enables polygraph testing as a licence condition and creates statutory definition of domestic abuse. The majority of the provisions in the Act apply to England and Wales, or England only [3]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet
Confirms majority of provisions apply to England and Wales and provides estimated costs of domestic abuse, with analogous provisions for Scotland and Northern Ireland extending the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the criminal courts [4]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet (Scottish and NI provisions)
Confirms analogous provisions for Scotland and Northern Ireland extending extraterritorial jurisdiction.

The legislation was long in the making. The Conservatives first proposed tougher measures in their 2017 election manifesto, but legislative progress was slow [5]Verified Lie detector tests planned for offenders
Confirms legislative history including the 2017 Conservative manifesto proposal and parliamentary delays. The Bill fell by the wayside when Boris Johnson suspended Parliament and MPs voted for an early general election [5]Verified Lie detector tests planned for offenders
Confirms legislative history including the 2017 Conservative manifesto proposal and parliamentary delays. The Government eventually brought back the legislation as an enhanced package of measures designed to protect victims and punish perpetrators [5]Verified Lie detector tests planned for offenders
Confirms legislative history including the 2017 Conservative manifesto proposal and parliamentary delays.

Among its most significant provisions, the Act enables domestic abuse offenders to be subject to polygraph testing as a condition of their licence following their release from custody [2]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021
Confirms the Act enables polygraph testing as a licence condition and creates statutory definition of domestic abuse. This marked a historic expansion of polygraph use in the UK criminal justice system, building on a decade of proven success with sexual offenders.

Key Provisions Beyond Polygraph Testing

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced a sweeping range of protections. The Act prohibits perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family and civil courts in England and Wales [6]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes
Confirms new offences including strangulation, non-fatal strangulation, and cross-examination prohibitions. It also created new offences of non-fatal strangulation or suffocation and extended the offence of disclosing private sexual photographs to cover threats to disclose such material [6]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes
Confirms new offences including strangulation, non-fatal strangulation, and cross-examination prohibitions.

The estimated cost of domestic abuse is approximately £66 billion for victims in England and Wales for the year ending March 2017 [7]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet (costs)
Confirms estimated annual cost of domestic abuse at £66 billion and that 0.3% reduction would make Act cost-effective, with inflationary adjustments placing the figure at approximately £74 billion today [8]Verified VAWDASV National Advisers Annual Plan 2024-2025
Confirms inflationary adjusted cost of domestic abuse at approximately £74 billion. The Impact Assessment published alongside the Act showed that only a small reduction of 0.3% in the prevalence of domestic abuse would be required for the benefits of the Act to outweigh the costs [7]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet (costs)
Confirms estimated annual cost of domestic abuse at £66 billion and that 0.3% reduction would make Act cost-effective.

The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that approximately 3.8 million people (7.8%) aged 16 years and over experienced domestic abuse in the survey year ending March 2025 [9]Verified Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025
Confirms 3.8 million people experienced domestic abuse in YE March 2025 and 72.1% of victims were female. Females are disproportionately represented among victims, with 72.1% of all victims being female [9]Verified Domestic abuse in England and Wales overview: November 2025
Confirms 3.8 million people experienced domestic abuse in YE March 2025 and 72.1% of victims were female. Understanding these statistics underscores why tools like polygraph testing for offender management are so valuable. You can learn more about how these programmes operate in our guide to polygraph exams for sex crime victims.

How Section 76 Extended Existing Powers

Section 76 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 amended Section 28 of the Offender Management Act 2007 to extend polygraph testing beyond sexual offenders to cover domestic abuse perpetrators [10]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Part 7
Confirms Section 76 amended Section 28 of the Offender Management Act 2007 to extend polygraph to domestic abuse offenders. The Offender Management Act 2007 originally permitted a polygraph condition to be included in the licence of an offender convicted of a specified sexual offence who is released from custody into the community on licence [11]Verified Offender Management Act 2007 - Explanatory Notes
Confirms Section 28 permits polygraph condition for offenders convicted of specified sexual offences released on licence. Section 76 expanded this framework so that the Secretary of State for Justice could impose mandatory polygraph examinations on domestic abuse perpetrators who have been released from prison and identified as being at high risk or very high risk of causing serious harm [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014.

In 2021, polygraph testing was extended to two new cohorts of offenders [13]Verified Explanatory Memorandum to the Polygraph (Amendment) Rules 2022
Confirms 2021 extension of polygraph testing to domestic abuse and terrorist offenders. In June 2021, the Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Act 2021 introduced testing for terrorist offenders [13]Verified Explanatory Memorandum to the Polygraph (Amendment) Rules 2022
Confirms 2021 extension of polygraph testing to domestic abuse and terrorist offenders. In July 2021, the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 introduced testing for domestic abuse offenders, subject to a pilot in specified police areas [13]Verified Explanatory Memorandum to the Polygraph (Amendment) Rules 2022
Confirms 2021 extension of polygraph testing to domestic abuse and terrorist offenders.

A polygraph condition requires the offender, on release, to take part in regular polygraph sessions, as instructed by their offender manager [14]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes (polygraph conditions)
Confirms polygraph condition requires regular sessions and results cannot be used in criminal proceedings. The imposition of the condition allows compliance with other licence conditions to be monitored and gives information about an offender's behaviour that will improve the effectiveness of how an offender is managed during the licence period [14]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes (polygraph conditions)
Confirms polygraph condition requires regular sessions and results cannot be used in criminal proceedings. Critically, Section 30 of the 2007 Act makes it clear that the results of a polygraph examination cannot be used in proceedings against the released person for an offence [15]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Notes - Section 76
Confirms polygraph results cannot be used in proceedings and that testing of sex offenders has operated since January 2014. This is an important safeguard explored further in our guide on PCSOT and Fifth Amendment rights.

Eligible Offences and Criteria

To qualify for the polygraph condition under the domestic abuse pilot, offenders must meet strict criteria. They must be assessed as high or very high risk of serious harm using nationally accredited risk assessment tools [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. They must be convicted of one or more eligible domestic abuse-related offences, including murder, a specified violent offence, breach of a restraining order where the offence involved domestic abuse, or controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. Additionally, offenders must be sentenced to a term of custody of 12 months or more for an eligible offence and released on licence into one of the four pilot regions [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. They must also be over the age of 18 [16]Verified Mandatory polygraph test for domestic abuse convicts
Confirms offender eligibility criteria including age 18+ and 12 months minimum sentence.

Information from the polygraph cannot be used in criminal courts as evidence against the individual who is subject to testing [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. People on supervision subject to a polygraph testing licence condition cannot be recalled to custody solely on the basis of returning a significant response [17]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (consequences)
Confirms offenders cannot be recalled solely for significant response but can be recalled for disclosed breaches. However, they can be recalled for making disclosures during the examination that reveal they have breached other licence conditions or suggest that their risk has escalated to a level whereby they can no longer be safely managed in the community [17]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (consequences)
Confirms offenders cannot be recalled solely for significant response but can be recalled for disclosed breaches. Understanding what happens if you lie on a polygraph test is essential context for how these examinations function within licence conditions.

Launch and Structure

On 4 July 2021, the Ministry of Justice commenced a three-year pilot of mandatory polygraph examinations for eligible individuals released on licence and being supervised within one of four pilot regions of the Probation Service [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. The provision was commenced in 13 police areas in the North of England as part of a pilot scheme running from 5 July 2021 to 5 July 2024 [18]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 (Commencement No. 1) Regulations 2021
Confirms pilot commenced in 13 police areas in North of England running from 5 July 2021 to 5 July 2024. A three-year pilot was designed to provide sufficient time to build up the necessary number of individuals subject to polygraph examinations to conduct a robust evaluation [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014.

Individuals who meet the eligibility criteria for the pilot and are given the polygraph licence condition are required to take a polygraph examination within 16 weeks of release from custody [19]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (testing schedule)
Confirms first test within 16 weeks of release from custody. If no concerns are identified, the process is repeated every six months until the end of the licence [20]Verified Mandatory polygraph testing programme (testing frequency)
Confirms testing repeated every six months and first test around three months post-release. Around 300 offenders were expected to take a lie detector test three months after their release and every six months after that [21]Verified Lie detector tests planned for offenders (estimated numbers)
Confirms around 300 offenders expected to be tested three months after release and every six months. Qualified Probation Officers with experience in the management of domestic abuse offenders have been recruited to undergo formal polygraph training [22]Verified UK Government to Run Three-Year Pilot
Confirms probation officers being recruited for formal polygraph training, delivered by Behavioural Measures, an organisation approved and licensed by the American Polygraph Association [23]Verified Mandatory Polygraph Tests (CT factsheet)
Confirms Behavioural Measures is APA-approved provider and polygraph measures heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and sweat.

Independent Evaluation

The Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing has been commissioned to formally conduct impact and economic evaluations of the pilot [24]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (evaluation)
Confirms Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing commissioned for impact and economic evaluations. A process evaluation is also being conducted by analysts within the Ministry of Justice [24]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (evaluation)
Confirms Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing commissioned for impact and economic evaluations. Evaluation findings will be published and laid before Parliament [24]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (evaluation)
Confirms Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing commissioned for impact and economic evaluations, and the findings will inform decision-making about whether to roll out polygraph examinations to this cohort across all probation regions [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014.

The evaluation contract specified four internal progress reports at key stages, an impact evaluation report scheduled for Autumn 2024, and a possible follow-up report in Autumn 2026 [25]Verified Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Polygraph Pilot (contract)
Confirms evaluation schedule with impact report in Autumn 2024 and possible follow-up in Autumn 2026. The Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing is conducting an ongoing randomised controlled trial evaluating the use of polygraphs for the management of domestic abuse offenders released from prison [26]Verified Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing - DA and VAWG
Confirms CCEBP is evaluating an ongoing randomised controlled trial on polygraph use for domestic abuse offenders. This rigorous evidence-based approach reflects the centre's founding mission to bridge the gap between academic research and policing practice [27]Verified Cambridge Centre for Evidence-Based Policing
Confirms CCEBP mission to bridge gap between academic research and policing practice. Visit our Polygraph Research Database for more peer-reviewed studies on polygraph efficacy.

What Happens During Testing

Polygraph examinations used in the pilot measure physiological responses — including changes in heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, and skin conductance — while the individual being tested answers certain questions [23]Verified Mandatory Polygraph Tests (CT factsheet)
Confirms Behavioural Measures is APA-approved provider and polygraph measures heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and sweat. The tests are conducted to check compliance with licence conditions such as entering exclusion zones, developing new relationships, or meeting prohibited individuals [28]Verified Mandatory polygraph testing (licence condition monitoring)
Confirms tests check compliance with exclusion zones, new relationships, and dynamic risk factors. Tests are also used to monitor dynamic risk factors related to offending such as the use of illegal substances or alcohol consumption [28]Verified Mandatory polygraph testing (licence condition monitoring)
Confirms tests check compliance with exclusion zones, new relationships, and dynamic risk factors.

Although the supervised offender cannot be returned to prison solely for failing a polygraph test, they can be returned to prison for making disclosures in the pre-test interview that reveal they have breached other licence conditions [29]Verified UK Government Three-Year Pilot (recall provisions)
Confirms offenders can be recalled for pre-test disclosures breaching licence conditions but not solely for failing test. The information gathered in the process is shared with the police, who may then conduct further investigations [29]Verified UK Government Three-Year Pilot (recall provisions)
Confirms offenders can be recalled for pre-test disclosures breaching licence conditions but not solely for failing test. Individuals who return a significant response during their examination will likely be scheduled to undertake a further polygraph examination ahead of their next planned appointment and may have further conditions added to their licence [17]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (consequences)
Confirms offenders cannot be recalled solely for significant response but can be recalled for disclosed breaches. Our page on diagnostic impressions in polygraph reports explains how examiners interpret these results.

The Original UK Pilot (2009-2012)

The domestic abuse polygraph pilot builds directly on the hugely successful use of polygraph examinations for monitoring sex offenders. Polygraph testing was first piloted in two probation regions in England — the East and West Midlands — as an additional risk management measure for eligible high-risk people convicted of sexual offences from 2009 [30]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment
Confirms polygraph testing first piloted from 2009 and University of Kent evaluation conducted 2010-2011. The University of Kent evaluated this pilot between April 2010 and December 2011 [30]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment
Confirms polygraph testing first piloted from 2009 and University of Kent evaluation conducted 2010-2011.

The landmark evaluation by Theresa A. Gannon and Jane Louise Wood compared 332 sex offenders supervised with polygraph versus 303 without, finding that the polygraph group made significantly higher numbers of risk-related disclosures [31]Verified Mandatory Polygraph Testing Pilot Study for Sexual Offenders
Compared 332 sex offenders with polygraph vs 303 without; polygraph group made significantly higher risk-related disclosures. The evaluation concluded that polygraph testing increased the likelihood that an individual would disclose information relevant to their management, supervision, treatment, or risk assessment [30]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment
Confirms polygraph testing first piloted from 2009 and University of Kent evaluation conducted 2010-2011. This, in turn, led to an increase in actions taken by probation practitioners to protect the public from harm [30]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment
Confirms polygraph testing first piloted from 2009 and University of Kent evaluation conducted 2010-2011. Following the successful pilot, the provisions were fully commenced in January 2014 [32]Verified Explanatory Memorandum (full commencement 2014)
Confirms following the successful pilot, polygraph provisions were fully commenced in January 2014.

National Programme Results Since 2014

Since 6 January 2014, the Probation Service has completed more than 8,500 polygraph tests on people released on licence from prison [33]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: justice factsheet (MoJ)
Confirms over 8,500 polygraph tests completed since 2014 with risk-related disclosures in two-thirds of tests. On average, offenders make risk-related disclosures in two-thirds of polygraph tests [33]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: justice factsheet (MoJ)
Confirms over 8,500 polygraph tests completed since 2014 with risk-related disclosures in two-thirds of tests. These disclosures have led to hundreds of recalls to prison, helping protect the public from individuals who might otherwise remain undetected [34]Verified How UK Police Are Using Polygraph Tests
Confirms over 8,500 tests conducted between 2014 and 2023, approximately 65% resulting in significant disclosures.

The Home Office reported that polygraph testing achieved a decision accuracy rate of 89% [35]Verified Mandatory Polygraph Tests (accuracy data)
Confirms 89% decision accuracy rate from APA meta-analysis consistent with NRC findings. These findings were consistent with a previous study carried out by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science published in 2003 in relation to accuracy [35]Verified Mandatory Polygraph Tests (accuracy data)
Confirms 89% decision accuracy rate from APA meta-analysis consistent with NRC findings. A comprehensive review published by the American Polygraph Association confirmed that polygraph is a highly accurate tool that can detect deception in approximately 80-90% of cases [36]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (APA review)
Confirms APA comprehensive review found polygraph can detect deception in approximately 80-90% of cases. There is no evidence from the use of polygraph examinations with individuals convicted of sexual offences that polygraph is used as a substitute for other forms of risk assessment and management [30]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment
Confirms polygraph testing first piloted from 2009 and University of Kent evaluation conducted 2010-2011.

Detective Chief Inspector Jude Holmes of Public Protection and Serious Crime endorsed the programme, noting that there have been a significant number of cases where information gained through polygraph testing has led to children and vulnerable people being safeguarded [37]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet (DCI Holmes endorsement)
Confirms DCI Jude Holmes endorsed polygraph use and confirmed cases where testing led to safeguarding outcomes. For a deeper look at how UK police forces are using these tools, see our coverage of South Yorkshire Police polygraph results and the Northumbria Police polygraph programme.

The Research Foundation for Post-Conviction Polygraph Testing

Post-Conviction Sex Offender Testing (PCSOT) was initially pioneered in America and has been used across the United States for decades [28]Verified Mandatory polygraph testing (licence condition monitoring)
Confirms tests check compliance with exclusion zones, new relationships, and dynamic risk factors. By 2009, PCSOT was utilised in 79% of adult and 50% of adolescent community sex offender treatment programmes across the US, up from just 29% in 1992 [38]Verified Current Practices and Emerging Trends in Sexual Abuser Management
Confirms PCSOT utilised in 79% of adult and 50% of adolescent community sex offender treatment programmes across the US. This dramatic increase demonstrates the growing confidence in polygraph as a risk management tool among criminal justice professionals.

Early UK research by Daniel T. Wilcox and Daniel E. Sosnowski demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of sexual history disclosure polygraph testing with British sexual offenders, supporting its international applicability beyond North America [39]Verified Polygraph Examination of British Sexual Offenders: A Pilot Study
Early UK pilot demonstrating feasibility and effectiveness of SHDE polygraph testing with British sexual offenders. Research has also explored the disclosure effect, sometimes called the 'bogus pipeline' effect, where the belief in being monitored by a polygraph drives increased disclosure regardless of the test's technical accuracy [40]Verified Polygraph Testing and Sexual Abuse: The Lure of the Magic Lasso
Critical examination of the bogus pipeline effect in PCSOT — belief in monitoring drives increased disclosure. This is a particularly relevant finding for the domestic abuse context, where disclosure of licence condition breaches is a primary objective.

Stanley Abrams' foundational research demonstrated that the disclosure polygraph examination produced substantially more self-reported victims and paraphilic behaviours from convicted child sex abusers than were available from official records alone [41]Verified The effectiveness of the disclosure test with sex abusers of children
Demonstrates disclosure polygraph produced substantially more self-reported victims and paraphilic behaviours than official records. Research into polygraph examination protocols related to sexual abuse cases [42]Verified Examination of Sexual Abuse Crimes
Provides insights into polygraph examination protocols and outcomes related to sexual abuse cases and innovative approaches such as integrating facial expression analysis with traditional polygraph examination [43]Verified Recognition of emotions by analysing facial expressions with FaceReader vs detection of deception by polygraph examination
Explored integration of facial expression analysis technology with traditional polygraph examination continue to advance the field.

The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015

Wales has been at the forefront of tackling domestic abuse through devolved legislation. The Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 (VAWDASV) was the first piece of legislation in the United Kingdom to explicitly and specifically address violence against women as opposed to domestic violence generally [44]Verified Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015
Confirms VAWDASV was the first UK legislation to explicitly address violence against women; became law 29 April 2015. The Act became law in Wales on 29 April 2015 following a unanimous vote of the National Assembly for Wales [44]Verified Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015
Confirms VAWDASV was the first UK legislation to explicitly address violence against women; became law 29 April 2015.

Its key purpose is to improve the public sector response in relation to the prevention of acts of gender-based violence, domestic abuse, and sexual violence, the protection of victims, and support of those affected [44]Verified Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015
Confirms VAWDASV was the first UK legislation to explicitly address violence against women; became law 29 April 2015. The VAWDASV Act puts a duty on the Public Sector to identify and to provide specialist support, known as 'Ask and Act' [45]Verified VAWDASV Act 2015 (Ask and Act duty)
Confirms VAWDASV Act puts duty on Public Sector to identify and provide specialist support known as Ask and Act. This progressive Welsh legislation works alongside the UK-wide Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to create a comprehensive framework for combating domestic abuse.

The Welsh Government's VAWDASV National Strategy 2022 to 2026 sets out six objectives aligned with prevention, protection, and support [46]Verified VAWDASV Annual Progress Report 2023-2024
Confirms Welsh Government VAWDASV National Strategy 2022-2026 with six objectives. In Wales, two National Advisers for Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence are appointed by the Welsh Ministers [47]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Explanatory Notes (Wales provisions)
Confirms two National Advisers for VAWDASV appointed by Welsh Ministers under section 20 of VAWDASV (Wales) Act 2015. Approximately a third of suicides in Wales are committed by perpetrators or victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence [48]Verified VAWDASV National Advisers Annual Plan 2026-2027
Confirms approximately a third of suicides in Wales committed by perpetrators or victims of domestic abuse, underscoring the urgency of effective intervention tools like polygraph monitoring. Those in Wales can book a lie detector test or explore polygraph testing in UK divorce proceedings for private matters.

Domestic Abuse Protection Orders: The Welsh Connection

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 also introduced new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices (DAPNs) and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs), which are being piloted separately. These provisions were initially piloted from 27 November 2024 in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Bromley, and Sutton [49]Verified Pilot starts for Domestic Abuse Protection Orders
Confirms DAPO pilot from 27 November 2024 in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton; North Wales joined April 2025. Significantly for Wales, North Wales Police joined the DAPO pilot in April 2025 [49]Verified Pilot starts for Domestic Abuse Protection Orders
Confirms DAPO pilot from 27 November 2024 in Greater Manchester, Croydon, Bromley and Sutton; North Wales joined April 2025, making Wales a direct participant in testing these new protective tools.

The DAPO framework stands ready to process 55,000 cases annually, delivering vital protection through multiple court systems including criminal, civil, and family courts [50]Verified DAPN and DAPO Powers: Essential Guide for 2025
Confirms DAPO framework ready to process 55,000 cases annually with up to five years imprisonment for breach. Offenders face serious consequences, including imprisonment for up to five years for breaching these orders [50]Verified DAPN and DAPO Powers: Essential Guide for 2025
Confirms DAPO framework ready to process 55,000 cases annually with up to five years imprisonment for breach. The combination of DAPOs and polygraph licence conditions represents a comprehensive approach to perpetrator management that holds enormous promise for communities across Wales and England. For related coverage of how police forces manage offenders with polygraph tools, see our article on West Midlands Police managing sex offenders.

Potential Nationwide Rollout

If the pilot is deemed successful, the project will be rolled out to all areas of England and Wales [12]Verified Mandatory polygraph tests factsheet
Confirms pilot commenced 4 July 2021 in four pilot regions, eligibility criteria, and over 7,000 sex offender tests since 2014. The evaluation results are expected to inform Parliament on whether to adopt the programme nationally [51]Verified How UK Police Are Using Polygraph Tests (expanding use)
Confirms evaluation results expected in late 2025 and expanding use by Metropolitan Police and others. The Crime and Policing Bill 2025 is already proposing to extend polygraph testing further, strengthening public protection and risk management for those on licence who pose the greatest risk of sexual harm and re-offending or who were convicted of crimes relating to terrorism [52]Verified Crime and Policing Bill: overview impact assessment (extension)
Confirms Crime and Policing Bill proposes extending polygraph testing further to strengthen public protection.

The evidence from domestic violence perpetrator programmes is encouraging. Evaluations of the Integrated Domestic Abuse Programme (IDAP) and Community Domestic Violence Programme (CDVP) found a joint impact of 13.2 percentage points on general reoffending, 10.9 percentage points on domestic violence offences, and 6.5 percentage points on general violent offending [53]Verified Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Polygraph Pilot (reoffending data)
Confirms IDAP and CDVP joint impact of 13.2% on general reoffending and 10.9% on DV offences; polygraph is cost-effective. If the impacts from polygraph testing prove similar, the three-year sample should be adequate to demonstrate a significant effect [53]Verified Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Polygraph Pilot (reoffending data)
Confirms IDAP and CDVP joint impact of 13.2% on general reoffending and 10.9% on DV offences; polygraph is cost-effective.

Polygraph testing is a cost-effective policy considering both societal and financial costs [53]Verified Evaluation of the Domestic Abuse Polygraph Pilot (reoffending data)
Confirms IDAP and CDVP joint impact of 13.2% on general reoffending and 10.9% on DV offences; polygraph is cost-effective. The potential to reduce reoffending even marginally among high-risk domestic abuse offenders could save lives and generate enormous savings against the estimated £66 billion annual cost of domestic abuse [7]Verified Domestic Abuse Act 2021: overarching factsheet (costs)
Confirms estimated annual cost of domestic abuse at £66 billion and that 0.3% reduction would make Act cost-effective. For those interested in a career supporting these vital programmes, learn how to become a polygraph examiner.

The Expanding Role of Polygraph in UK Criminal Justice

The use of polygraph in the UK criminal justice system continues to expand rapidly. Although polygraph evidence remains inadmissible in UK criminal courts, its operational use by police, probation services, and counterterrorism agencies is growing [51]Verified How UK Police Are Using Polygraph Tests (expanding use)
Confirms evaluation results expected in late 2025 and expanding use by Metropolitan Police and others. Some police forces, including the Metropolitan Police, are exploring polygraphs for internal vetting following scandals involving officers [51]Verified How UK Police Are Using Polygraph Tests (expanding use)
Confirms evaluation results expected in late 2025 and expanding use by Metropolitan Police and others, and investigative assessments in online child exploitation cases [51]Verified How UK Police Are Using Polygraph Tests (expanding use)
Confirms evaluation results expected in late 2025 and expanding use by Metropolitan Police and others.

The Colin Pitchfork case demonstrated the real-world importance of polygraph in offender management — he was recalled to prison after polygraph concerns surfaced about his compliance with licence conditions. The Essex Police case where polygraph evidence contributed to a 9-year sentence further highlights the tool's investigative value.

Research continues to advance the science. Studies examining the Guilty Knowledge Test [54]Verified The Amount of Information Remembered by the Perpetrator in the Context of GKT
Examined perpetrator memory for crime details contributing to understanding of GKT applicability and functional MRI brain correlates of deception [55]Verified A Pilot Study of Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Brain Correlates of Deception
Revealed consistent deception-related activation in orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex using fMRI are expanding our understanding of deception detection. The integration of new technologies like facial expression analysis with traditional polygraph examination [43]Verified Recognition of emotions by analysing facial expressions with FaceReader vs detection of deception by polygraph examination
Explored integration of facial expression analysis technology with traditional polygraph examination points to an increasingly sophisticated future for the field. Those interested in international comparisons can explore our guide to lie detector tests in Australia or the history of polygraph from Watergate through to Congress.