High-tech bid to beat benefit cheats
Updated on 18 February 2008
Using lie detector tests to nab benefit cheats has saved a council hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Harrow Council, in northwest London, is trialling voice risk analysis in a year-long pilot for the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).
Others taking part include Edinburgh, Durham and Birmingham.
Harrow Council said 998 people have been assessed over a seven month period, with 119 (12 per cent) identified as "high risk".
Of those, 43 were found to have been paid incorrect benefit, either through suspected fraud or because they volunteered a change of circumstance when their claim was further scrutinised.
The council said the initiative has already saved taxpayers £336,711, and the introduction of lie detector technology seems to be deterring people from make false claims.
More than a quarter of people tested, 281 (2.8 per cent), volunteered information about a change in personal circumstances, which meant they no longer needed benefits. That was more than double the percentage who volunteered such information prior to the trial.
Some 53 people (5 per cent) refused to use the technology and their claims were processed in the usual way.
Voice risk analysis has been used in the insurance industry for more than five years and works by detecting changes in people's voice patterns such as hesitation or avoiding direct questions.
Harrow Council said it hopes to get further funding from the DWP to continue using the technology after the trial period ends in April.
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