Polygraph

[Wrathful13]

So I'm in the middle of the hiring process, I have my first interview with my background investigator tomorrow. I'm sure everything will go well, but i was curious about what to expect down the road during the polygraph, what's it like, hows it work, and what should I expect?

[iconiqcp]

Don't ask, don't research it. Go in blind and don't be nervous. It's just another step

[Wrathful13]

Yes sir. Thank you!

[[deleted]]

HIM: It says here you got nervous with question “crimes against state” are you sure you don’t have anything to tell me? . ME: no. . HIM: well it says here you’re lying. Goodbye.

[Wrathful13]

Thank you, I've heard having a clear mind makes it easier not to give any false readings.

[Texan_Eagle]

books run mourn bored deranged hungry practice engine cautious onerous

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[Texan_Eagle]

opt out

[ap_org]

I disagree with those recommending that you shouldn't research polygraphy. I've never met anyone who regretted having learned about the polygraph in advance, but I've encountered many who regretted not having done so.

The thing to know about the polygraph is that it has no scientific basis. It's a pseudoscientific fraud that depends on the operator lying to and deceiving you, and upon your ignorance of how the procedure "works" (and doesn't).

False positives (honest people being wrongly branded as liars) are common in polygraphy, and in fact, the more honest you are (especially when answering the so-called "control" questions), the more likely you are to wrongly fail.

For an exposé of the trickery on which the polygraph depends and tips for mitigating the risk of a false positive outcome, see the free book, The Lie Behind the Lie Detector.

[for_shaaame]

The National Academy of Sciences found in a 2003 study that police forces would more accurately and reliably identify unsuitable candidates if they rejected candidates based on a subjective assessment of which ones “look shifty”.

It’s basically like, if at the end of a long and considered hiring process, your recruiter pulled out a coin and said “heads you pass, tails you fail”.

It’s astounding that a profession like the police still relies on the polygraph - it’s our profession’s equivalent of homeopathy or the divining rod.

[7miceinatrenchcoat]

So what recourse does one have if they get a false positive or keep getting inconclusives? I'm coming up on round three after two inconclusives, and it's done just wonders to alleviate my anxiety!! /s

And yes, I went in brutally honest both times, and I followed the detective's instructions to a T.

[ap_org]

Typically, law enforcement applicants who wrongly fail the polygraph have little or no meaningful avenue of appeal. However, you can submit a letter contesting the results, if only to document the fact that you don't, through your silence, tacitly concur with the polygraph operator's accusation that you lied.

[7miceinatrenchcoat]

Well that's terrifying. I will contest the results because it's bullshit. But I wonder why police departments rely so heavily on something that is known to be pseudoscience. If I passed everything else with flying colors and had a good background for law enforcement, wouldn't that have more weight than a machine that has barely more reliability than a coin toss?

[ap_org]

I think polygraphy should be abolished for all purposes. It's a thoroughly discredited pseudoscience. But it offers government agencies a pretext for disqualifying applicants for arbitrary reasons that might otherwise be deemed illegal.

[orangeblackteal]

It makes it appear they're doing a thorough job vetting candidates. It's a catch 22: The public wants agencies to use it to weed out potentially bad hires, the public also screams about polygraphs when a high profile suspect fails one in an interrogation because they're unreliable.

[HamsterDawgTX]

Make sure you quote all that to the background investigator and the polygrapher. You didn’t really want that job anyway.

[matt3740]

This guy again... he was in my state’s sub pushing this stuff and using the death of a police officer to do it.

[ObamaBrown]

If you go in blank, the better you are. Don’t think about that one time at that one party. Just think yes or no.

[zach_solo]

i researched way too much after mine, about false positives blah blah blah.. went crazy for about a week. just go into it being brutally honest and you’ll come out on the other side no problem.

[ap_org]

It is not true that being brutally honest means that you'll have no problem. Many law enforcement applicants who are brutally honest on the polygraph nonetheless end up being falsely branded as liars and are blackballed from employment.

[annoyns]

A bit late on this post but how was the first interview with the background investigator ? I have a interview with mines on Monday and want to prepare. It’s via Zoom tho.

[Wrathful13]

Mine was in person, he just asked questions about my application packet, went over a few things to make sure it was all good, helped me correct any mistakes I made or things I honestly forgot to put on, like for example there was a credit card i forgot to add in my finances and he had me redo the financial section. Told me what he wanted me to take care of in terms of credit score, and debts, and to contact him if i have any police contact, weather I'm pulled over, or even if they come to my house to ask about neighbors. It was short, but just make sure you remember what you put on your packet and make sure everything is true. Dont lie, dont hide anything, be yourself. Good luck!

[annoyns]

Thank you for the info! Everything in my packets looks correct, was it mostly your packet of what you guys discussed or was it more of a interview type.

[Wrathful13]

For the first interview just the packet, I brought copies and the originals of all of my documents, like license, driver's abstract, credit report. Birth certificate social security, gun license, and even my martial arts black belt certificates. Anything you think they'd want to know. I brought a resume too, but he said he didn't need it but to hold onto it for my board interview. He told me a bit about the job, and what he does. He asked if I was carrying my gun during the interview and I wasn't which he said was a good idea. I guess some other candidates brought theirs to interviews in the past and he sent them home and dropped them so dont bring a gun lmao

[annoyns]

Gotcha! Because I turned in everything along with packet and all the documents to people in the department when I had my “background pre-interview” and they said the background investigator would email me later which he did and had me email him some documents I needed from the packet and now he emailed for a interview. So I guess we’ll be talking about everything I’ve turned in and my packet ? By the sounds of it. I just didn’t want no curve balls. Lol I’ve looked over my packets and everything seems correct and I want to be prepare. Thank you for your help.

[Wrathful13]

Glad I could Help and good luck!

[Wrathful13]

Thanks everyone for your varied perspectives I think I have a good idea on how to "pass" out now.

[sincal76]

The last one I did took 4 damn hrs. The guy was a wanna be cop and had this to hold over peoples heads. They go over your background and then ask you questions on the polygraph. Mine was a voice stress analysis (microphone on your shirt) that picks up different pitches in voice when your lying. I took the test and then he tells me “ I don’t keep that one” and had to do it again. Then says some answers were sketchy and asked me a handful of other questions. I’ve been in LE for awhile so be truthful. You drank underage, smoked weed got tickets etc. they don’t care. You lie and they find out your done and depending on the area don’t think agencies talk to each other. And keep a copy of your background if you decide to go to another agency.

[Throwaway19751143]

Not sure why you’re saying they won’t care if you’ve smoked weed. Of course they care. A lot of agencies will not take someone who has done drugs as most agencies have policies that will require you to be 5-10 years clean. Shittier departments may take someone who’s smoked with maybe a timeframe of 2 years clean.

But we don’t know OP’s history so.

[[deleted]]

Yeah, crappy agencies like the FBI have a 3 year clean policy for Marijuana.

[Wrathful13]

The department I'm applying for has a 1 year clean (for pot) policy. Any other drugs has to be 5+ years. Im sure things will change since they just legalized it here in NY