Anyone know how the police hiring-process polygraph test works?

[longskate88]

So one of my future career options is to be a police officer, if I don't like the field I'm studying for. I know I can pass all the physical tests, etc but the polygraph seems interesting. Anyone know:



1) Do you have a chance to explain any dubious answers? Say you answer "no" to stealing a car 2 years ago, but the test comes back as "yes." Will they ask you to explain, or simply disqualify you?



2) Say you answer either "yes" or "no" to stealing the car, and the results come back as "yes." Can they arrest you/press charges/ investigate further based on the polygraph results? What if it's something serious like murder, the polygraph results show you murdered someone. Can you walk out of the test in handcuffs, or will they again simply disqualify you?

 

[FidelCashflow]

I'm far from an expert in this regard, but I have seen a few documentaries about polygraphs and their bogus results.

My understanding is it's very common for a lie detector to say someone telling the truth is lying as a polygraph really measures nervousness, and takes any signs of nervousness like increased heart rate as a sign of deception. Maybe someone panics because they're worried they're going to get caught, maybe they panic because someone just asked them about being a **** which scares the crap out of them. It's less common to get truthful results when someone is lying, unless of course they use one of the relatively simple ways to beat a lie detector like clenching your anal sphincter (yes, you read that right... watch the Penn & Teller episode of Bullshit! on lie detectors and you'll know how that works)

Most courts won't accept polygraph results as evidence as they are notoriously unreliable, so I don't think they could press charges with a failed polygraph alone. But I don't see why they couldn't investigate something further if it really bothered them (i.e. failing a questions "are you a serial killer&quot, but if its minor ("i.e. do you smoke weed?&quot I doubt they'd care too much.

Half the value of the polygraph is its ability to make people blurt out dumb stuff they shouldn't. They'll give you the test, make you feel nervous by giving you absolutely zero feedback on how you've done, and then after the test is over and they disconnect everything, before they talk results with you, they ask you "Is there anything you want to tell me before I go over your results?" hoping you'll blurt out a confession.

Again, check out the Penn & Teller Bullshit! episode on polygraphs, plus I'm sure there are a ton of videos out there showing how these really function and how they can be manipulated.

EDIT: It is possible to try and beat the lie detector test with all kinds of tricks from taking certain drugs in advance, to clenching your bum, to broken glass in the shoe, etc. but if you do get caught doing that, I'm pretty sure that would disqualify you right there. Somehow I doubt that someone with only a few bad decisions here and there in the past would be disqualified from becoming a cop.

 

[crazyquik]

Originally Posted by FidelCashflow

Half the value of the polygraph is its ability to make people blurt out dumb stuff they shouldn't. They'll give you the test, make you feel nervous by giving you absolutely zero feedback on how you've done, and then after the test is over and they disconnect everything, before they talk results with you, they ask you "Is there anything you want to tell me before I go over your results?" hoping you'll blurt out a confession.
This ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ Or the test administrator will look over the results, act puzzled, say he didn't get a good read, and ask you a few of the same questions over again. It's a voodoo science junk box, used to intimidate you into reneging on your answers or blurting out 'the truth'. It often doesn't matter as much what the truth is, merely that you tried to lie and cover it up.

 

[longskate88]

Thanks guys. So say you stole the car, should you say yes and hope they'll forgive it since it's in the past, or say no and hope they disregard the fact that the results show you falsified an answer?

 

[crazyquik]

Hypothetically, if they are going to poly you, they are also going to have your entire criminal history.

Hypothetically, if you had a lapse of judgment several years ago, which was later expunged from your record . . . you will have to check your state law to see how much expunging really does.

 

[longskate88]

...But say you were never caught, no criminal record.

 

[Milhouse]

The poly is really about the administrator, not about the machine.

To answer your other question, it depends. For fed jobs that require a poly, you'll sign something on your clearance paperwork that says the things you admit to will not be held against you criminally. E.g. they want you to be honest so you don't have secrets that can be used to blackmail you. There is a website somewhere that shows the type of **** people admit to, get rejected, appeal, and get their TS anyway.

 

[origenesprit]

So, you stole a car, right?

 

[longskate88]

Originally Posted by origenesprit

So, you stole a car, right?

No, but this thread may get deleted before I go applying to any police departments

 

[globetrotter]

if they know what they are doing, you won't beat the machine. trust me.

but here is the thing, what they want is to make sure that you tell them the truth. so lets say you used some weed in the past. tell them about it. if you raped and killed 23 tourists, don't apply to the cops. stealing a car falls somewhere in the middle.

 

[uhurit]

Originally Posted by Milhouse

The poly is really about the administrator, not about the machine.

To answer your other question, it depends. For fed jobs that require a poly, you'll sign something on your clearance paperwork that says the things you admit to will not be held against you criminally. E.g. they want you to be honest so you don't have secrets that can be used to blackmail you. There is a website somewhere that shows the type of **** people admit to, get rejected, appeal, and get their TS anyway.

+1 Good administrators are worth their weight in gold and can pretty much interpret you answers with amazing accuracy

 

[Helix]

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[crazyquik]

Originally Posted by Helix

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Dr. Pepper does it every time

 

[x26]

Originally Posted by longskate88

So one of my future career options is to be a police officer, if I don't like the field I'm studying for. I know I can pass all the physical tests, etc but the polygraph seems interesting. Anyone know:



1) Do you have a chance to explain any dubious answers? Say you answer "no" to stealing a car 2 years ago, but the test comes back as "yes." Will they ask you to explain, or simply disqualify you?



2) Say you answer either "yes" or "no" to stealing the car, and the results come back as "yes." Can they arrest you/press charges/ investigate further based on the polygraph results? What if it's something serious like murder, the polygraph results show you murdered someone. Can you walk out of the test in handcuffs, or will they again simply disqualify you?

So you're asking if they(the LE Agency) asks: Did you commit any Undetected Felonies"??

My agency asked that question in a Variety of ways...Just say no and Believe your own lies...

 

[mikej77]

Agree with what Globe said. Your best option is to tell the truth. Any answers you provided on your employment paperwork with the police dept will probably be asked again on the poly. Don't change your answers and dont lie. The poly is nothing more than a tool used by the interviewer. For people properly trained to use them, they are an invaluable tool and you will not beat them.