LONDON - A police force in Britain has begun experimenting with the use of lie detectors to determine whether charges should be brought against suspected sex offenders.

The experiment by police in Hertfordshire, a county in southern England, could prove controversial because the country's police and courts generally avoid using lie detectors tests to charge or convict suspects because they are considered unreliable.

Hertfordshire police said Saturday they have begun using lie detectors on some suspected sex offenders and will conduct a yearlong experiment with that procedure in 2012.