USIS Signs Teaming Agreement with University of Arizona for Development of New Investigative Tools

  • Apr 28, 2011

USIS, an Altegrity company, has signed a teaming agreement with The National Center of Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS) at the University of Arizona to develop new investigative tools that will enable agencies to conduct comprehensive interviews and inquiries of current and prospective employees. The research will be conducted at the campus of the University of Arizona in partnership with USIS.

“This is an exciting opportunity for USIS,” said Bill Mixon, president and CEO of USIS. “As the nation’s largest provider of investigation services, we bring a wealth of experience to this partnership. I believe our work with the University of Arizona in this project will result in a more thorough and comprehensive screening process for those organizations that have that requirement.”

BORDERS, headquartered at the University of Arizona, is a consortium of 14 premier institutions dedicated to the development of innovative technologies, proficient processes and effective policies that help protect our nation’s borders. The center is funded by the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate.

“We look forward to integrating our technologies with USIS’ current investigative procedures,” said Dr. Elyse Golob, executive director of BORDERS. “This partnership will give us the opportunity to use our innovations to tackle border security challenges. It will also provide our students with real-world experience in integrating technologies into the interview process.”

“This project will rapidly test and evaluate technologies to augment and enhance employee screening,” said Damon Hudson, vice president of investigative programs of USIS’s investigative services division. “What makes this different from the way employee screening is being conducted now is the infusion of service enabled technology that will aid investigators in a more thorough, complete and accurate investigation.”

BORDERS researchers bring more than 30 years of experience in credibility assessment. While many detection techniques exist, ranging from physiologically-based instruments to behavioral cues, no single indicator has proven to be accurate 100 percent of the time. To respond to this challenge, BORDERS has developed computer-assisted detection tools that assist human interviewers by analyzing and tracking speech and nonverbal behavior. These techniques have shown great promise in discerning both truthful and deceptive information.

“We will utilize our extensive experience in credibility assessment technologies and validation to augment and automate the interview processes,” said Dr. Jay Nunamaker, Regents and Soldwedel professor of MIS, computer science and communication, who also serves as BORDERS director and principal investigator. “Our research has already produced many proprietary and custom-built products relevant to rapid, high-volume screening and we are already developing new applications.”

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