ACC's Profiler - The Great Deception?

ACC Claimant support groups are questioning the invitation extended by ACC to Steve Longford from Australia to be a keynote speaker at it’s forthcoming ‘Bold Perspectives, Shared Objectives’ conference to be held in March next year.

Mr Longford's profile identifies him as an FBI-trained criminal profiler with a specialisation in ‘deception detection’.

Ruth Dyson suggested, in response to questioning in Parliament by Sue Bradford, that Mr Longford was invited because he has a specialisation in family violence. She indicated that ACC had been impressed by Mr Longford's keynote speech last year at the Australian Rehabilitation conference. The keynote speech's introduction in the programme says " the detection of deception is based on criminal intelligence and incorporates body language social psychology. Do you know when someone is being deceptive? Is someone purposely hiding information from you?”

Contrary to the Minister's assertion, there does not appear to be anything in Mr Longford's resume that indicates anything to do with family violence. It would seem to be abundantly obvious that ACC has invited him here to use his expertise to get more people off income related compensation more quickly through a presumption that ‘deception detection’ will achieve this.

Murray Jorgensen, President of Acclaim Canterbury says "Individual rehabilitation plans often seem to be a means to an end. The goal of these being a speedy exit from weekly compensation entitlement through the vocational independence assessment. ACC has a statutory obligation to restore the claimant's participation to the maximum extent practicable. Instead people are being pushed off with dodgy computer certificates and now ACC would appear to be treating people as criminals by encouraging case managers to use behavioural profiling techniques such as those so promoted by Mr Longford."

"We currently have a petition before the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee calling for an inquiry into ACC claims management." states Denise Powell President of Acclaim Otago. "It is vital that ACC's way of working be scrutinised and I sincerely hope the petition’s call is heeded."

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