Polygraph Case Study: Confession of an addict

Substance abuse in the workplace is more common than you might think. According to Recovery Direct’s Guide for Employers Dealing With Addictions, as much as 15% of the South African workforce is “actively addicted to some harmful substance or behaviour”. Labour Guide says that absenteeism among employees with a substance abuse problem is three times that of other employees. They also tend to claim three times more sick benefits than other employees, and are involved in more workplace accidents.

If some of our previous polygraph case studies are anything to go by, then substance abuse can also be said to be a leading driver of some types of workplace crimes, like theft.

CSI AFRICA (PTY)LTD was contacted by a large well-known company that specialises in security controls, automation, and various other monitoring and management systems. The company requested polygraph examinations for two male employees suspected of using illegal drugs while on duty. 

Suspecting workplace drug abuse

Suspicions initially arose on the morning of 14 November 2022 when an empty packet containing traces of a white powdery substance was found by a cleaner in the men’s bathroom. Of all the employees on duty the previous evening, only two were male.

The two men were called in by the CEO and questioned individually about the empty packet.

Both denied any kind of involvement with illegal drugs and also denied ownership of the empty packet.

The company had no choice but to request drug and polygraph tests, to which both men agreed.

The company contacted CSI Africa’s Polygraph Division to establish the following : 

• Are the two employees using illegal drugs at work?
• Who does the empty packet belong to?
• If neither accepts responsibility, could they be covering for each other?

The drug test was conducted by a medical doctor on the 21st of November 2022. Urine samples were collected and the doctor confirmed that results would be available later that day. 

In the meantime polygraph tests would be conducted on the two individuals.

Examinee A Polygraph Test

During the pre-test interview the first examinee admitted to the attempted theft of expensive equipment from the company on more than one occasion and that, at that moment, he also had company equipment in the boot of his car which he considered keeping. 

Asked about his drug habits, he admitted to the use of a variety of illegal drugs, including MDMA, mushrooms, ecstasy, LSD, cocaine, and khat among others, but that he hadn’t used in the two months prior to the investigation, and never took drugs at work. 

Does his co-accused use illegal drugs? He thinks so, he said, but couldn’t say whether the other accused was the owner of the empty packet.

Polygraphist’s observations

What was interesting during the pre-test interview was the fact that this examinee kept on rocking back and forth on his chair, biting his nails, and mumbling “come clean, come clean, come clean you bastard” 

Asked who he was referring to he said that he wasn’t going to snitch on anyone. He was asked again if the packet belonged to him. No, he said, it belonged to someone else. With no further information forthcoming, the examination concluded.

This examinee failed polygraph questions about using illegal drugs at work and knowledge about ownership / possession of the empty packet.

Examinee B – Polygraph Test

It was explained to the second examinee that taking illegal drugs does not make anyone a bad person. Use of illegal drugs is not about feeling the “high” but rather about a feeling of “escape” from the pressures of day to day living.

The examinee displayed telltale signs of shame and embarrassment, lowering his head and breaking eye contact. 

Could he be the owner of the empty packet? 

“The small packet containing traces of illegal drugs belonged to you, didn’t it?“ 

He covered his eyes with his hands, then his entire face. He started to cry, admitting “Yes, it was mine.” 

After he calmed down, the man was pressed about his history with drugs.

He said that he started using khat about two years prior when he was tempted by a friend at a house party. Shortly after, he got the dealer`s number and started buying hits at R200 each. It was recreational use at first, but then turned into an addiction. 

He has taken khat at work roughly 10 times in the past year without detection or arousing suspicion. He claimed that the first examinee had also taken khat. While each knew the other was using, they never used together at work.

Given that both a verbal and written confession were obtained during the preliminary interview, the polygraph test concluded without need for the in-test phase.

Both polygraph examinations were conducted per the APA standards and SAPFED Regulations.

Later that afternoon the drug test results came back and confirmed that both examinees had traces of illicit drugs in their urine. 

Labour law: substance abuse in the workplace

Section 8 of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) states that employers are responsible for creating and maintaining a working environment that is both safe for employees and without risks to their health. This includes maintaining a workplace environment where employees are not under the influence of substances while on duty.  

But dealing with substance abuse in the workplace is problematic for many organisations since the law regards individuals addicted to alcohol or drugs as legally ill, which makes dismissal on those grounds illegal.

The onus is on the employer to create clear policies that reflect a zero-tolerance approach with regard to the use of alcohol and drugs – not only during work, but outside of work hours as well (since alcohol and / or drugs can remain in the system for stretches of time and so have a lingering influence).

It is for this reason that pre-employment polygraph testing of prospective applicants and periodic polygraph testing of existing employees are used as both a preventative measure (to gauge candidate suitability) and a deterrent (of unfavourable behaviour among existing employees).

For more information about how CSI Africa’s polygraph services can help protect your business against substance abuse, contact 0861 274 911 or get in touch.