J. Pete Blair

J. Pete Blair is a Professor of Criminal Justice at Texas State University and Executive Director of the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center. He earned his Ph.D. in criminal justice from Michigan State University in 2004, and before earning his PhD, he worked as an interviewer and trainer for John E. Reid and Associates, gaining practical experience in investigative interviewing techniques.

Blair's research contributions to credibility assessment and deception detection have been substantial, though primarily focused outside traditional polygraph contexts. His research focuses on investigative interviewing, deception detection, interrogation, and false confessions. His 2010 study "Understanding False Confessions" published in European Polygraph with co-author Patricia A. Hom examined the reliability and voluntariness of confessions. Blair's broader deception research has explored ecological approaches to lie detection, demonstrating that people can detect deception at significantly above chance accuracy in policing environments when using context-based rather than demeanor-based methods.

Blair has been a frequent collaborator with communication researcher Timothy R. Levine, together producing influential studies on expert deception detection, question effects in interviews, and the psychology of true versus false confessions. His work has challenged conventional assumptions about behavioral cues to deception and advocated for evidence-based interrogation practices that minimize false confession risks.

While Blair's 2010 European Polygraph publication represents his documented contribution to the polygraph literature, his primary scholarly impact lies in law enforcement training and active shooter response research. Since joining Texas State University in 2007, his research has increasingly focused on police tactics, use of force, and mass casualty incident response, making him a nationally recognized expert in that domain rather than in polygraph science specifically.