Crime suspects and even some prospective city employees could be facing a new type of interviewer at the Westbrook Police Department after Detective Dan Violette returns from training in December.

The police department recently locked into a free federal polygraphist training program in Pennsylvania. The department has also applied for a U.S. Department of Justice grant to the tune of $16,000 that will purchase a polygraph machine, also known as a lie detector.

“It will be a real feather in the hat for our department,” said Westbrook Police Capt. Tom Roth.

The polygraph machine and accessories will cost about $10,500. The other $5,300 will be used to purchase a fifth in-cruiser camera.

Roth said he is confident the grant will be awarded. The Westbrook City Council approved the grant application on Monday. The federally funded training program is separate from the grant.

“It’s a new endeavor for me, and I’m excited by the opportunity,” said Violette, who will head out for the 12-week training program in September.

Roth said the program is intellectually intensive, and any polygraphist must be a skilled interviewer before training to use the machine.

A lie detector measures a variety of physiological functions, including respiration, pulse, blood pressure and skin conductivity. The machine is based on the idea that a person’s physiological state will change based on whether the subject is attempting to deceive an interviewer. A trained polygraphist can watch the readings to assist in deciding if the interviewee is lying. Polygraph tests are about 90 percent accurate.

Roth said the department currently sees additional expenses by going to neighboring communities to use their polygraph machines and trained polygraphists. Westbrook will save costs by having a machine and trained interviewer in-house.

The machine will be used in interviewing prospective employees for sensitive positions, as well as for interviewing suspects in criminal cases. The results are not admissible in court, Roth said, and not a lot of cases necessitate a polygraph test.

While a polygraph test isn’t admissible in court, the evidence shot by fifth in-cruiser camera, whch will link up to a server at the department headquarters, is. Roth said the four existing cameras have been useful both in supplying evidence as well as protecting officers from unfounded accusations.

The four cameras and the server were purchased in 2006 after the department received another grant from the justice department. Roth said as funding comes in, the department will continue to add cameras to the remaining cruisers that lack the technology.