Ignoring new behavioral identification techniques invites peril.

In the TV series Lie To Me, a group of behavioral identification experts use applied psychology to help police investigators find the truth, largely by interpreting the facial and body micro-expressions of subjects in order to discern whether police are being lied to.

In the real world, forensic scientists, police detectives, and other authorities concerned with finding the truth have access to many of the same behavioral identification techniques used in the television series. The trouble is, these techniques aren’t used nearly enough, according to a noted behavioral scientist.

Mark G. Frank, a University at Buffalo behavioral scientist and security researcher, uses the 2009 Christmas Day incident of the terrorist who tried to blow up a Detroit-bound jetliner as an example.

Frank maintains suspect Farouk Abdul Mutallab could have been apprehended before he got anywhere near Northwest Airlines Flight 253 if behavioral identification programs had been used effectively. Frank, an original member of the FBI’s Terrorism Research and Analysis Project, a group that combines academic and counter-terrorism professionals, said although Mutallab may have made it through some security levels, behavioral science techniques could have detected him once he got closer to the boarding area.

“There have been many scientific advances in technology coupled with understanding such people and their behavior, as well as programs that put that into action to help identify them,” Frank said. “Unfortunately, these programs are not being used widely enough.”