Israeli Security Agency- Shin Bet Polygraph Department

The Polygraph Department of the General Security Service (GSS) is a professional body responsible for conducting periodic and ongoing reliability tests for the organization’s employees, as well as tests as part of security investigations.

The following are the department’s main areas of responsibility and activity:

• Employee screening and reliability: Every candidate for the GSS and every employee during their service is required to undergo periodic polygraph tests as part of the security classification process. The purpose of the tests is to verify the integrity of the employees and prevent the leakage of classified information or the infiltration of hostile elements.
• Investigation support: The department performs polygraph tests as an auxiliary tool in complex security investigations, including internal investigations in cases of suspected leaks or security offenses.
• Assistance to other bodies: Sometimes the department assists in examining elements outside the Shin Bet, such as IDF officers or employees in other sensitive bodies, in cases of suspected harm to state security.
• Surprise tests: As part of the lessons learned from security incidents, random polygraph tests (“refresher tests”) are performed to maintain a high level of alertness and reliability in the organization.

Interesting fact: The department is considered one of the most professional in the world in its field, and its former senior officers often integrate into the civilian market as managers of private polygraph institutes.

Victor Chaim Cohen (born 1924) is a former senior officer in the General Security Service (1952 – 1977). From 1967 until his retirement, he served as head of the Shin Bet’s Investigations Division. In addition, he also served as the service’s legal advisor and was head of the polygraph department. He brought the polygraph to Israel for security use.

In 1959, during his service in the Shin Bet, he studied polygraph for six months in Chicago, USA, with John Reid, a world expert. One of the fathers of the polygraph and developer of the Reid technique.

In 1966, he received a certificate of membership in the American Polygraph Society. From 1961 until his release in 1977, he was responsible for the Shin Bet’s polygraph laboratory.

After completing his service in the service, in 1977, he founded the Israeli Polygraph Institute with Zvi Aharoni.