Domestic abusers and convicted terrorists could be forced to take lie-detector tests as part of their parole terms.
The Government wants to roll out polygraphs across the justice system amid claims they snared sex beasts 1,499 times in four years.
They have been used since 2014 to stop sex offenders duping probation staff over their whereabouts.
From 2015 to 2019, 5,228 tests on 2,249 offenders found “significant” falsehoods in 1,449, with 160 returned to jail.
Polygraphs will now be used in a three-year pilot under the new Domestic Abuse Bill and are recommended for the upcoming Counter-Terrorism and Sentencing Bill.
The Ministry of Justice says lie detectors are 89% accurate, but studies dispute their precision.
Dr Kyriakos Kotsoglou, a criminal justice lecturer at Northumbria Law School, warned: “Any claim the polygraph can reliably detect truthfulness is wildly inaccurate. It is, in effect, an interrogation tool.”
The Ministry of Justice said: “Testing of sex offenders has helped keep the public safe. The Domestic Abuse Bill will test if it’s equally effective with domestic abusers.
“It is only ever used in addition to close supervision, behaviour treatment and strict conditions on offenders’ movements and contact with victims.”
