Police Polygraph Test

 

 

»  the police polygraph pre test interview

The pretest interview is considered an important component of the polygraph examination. An important purpose of the pre test interview is to persuade you that the examination is conducted in a professional manner and that any deception attempted will be obvious to the examiner. Such instructions, place truthful subjects at ease and increase anxiety in subjects who intend to be deceptive. Persuading subjects about the effectiveness of the examination should sharpen differences between deceptive and non deceptive subjects in their reactions to questions about a particular question. Pretest interviews typically take from 20 to 30 minutes. As a police applicant you will  be told that the polygraph examination is voluntary and you'll  be asked to sign a waiver form. You will also be told how the results of the examination will be used.

In the case of police employment you will be advised that a copy of the test results will be provided to the police department you applied to, and that you will not be asked questions concerning such areas as political activities, racial or religious beliefs, or sexual activities.

The remainder of the pretest interview focuses on the specific questions you will be asked during the examination. These may include questions about your prior employment, driving record, drug use, and criminal history. The examiner wants to learn enough to assess your readiness for the examination and to prepare anxiety-provoking control questions. The polygraph examiner will then explain the polygraph technique to you before starting the actual examination.

 

»  zap the polygraph examiner

The polygraph has never been popular. Inadmissible in court, dreaded by criminals, and forget police applicants; they would rather have a root canal than be subjected to the "box." Even police agencies have mixed feelings regarding the lie detector (which it's not) but that depends on whether they are giving or taking the test. The polygraph has steadily lost credibility in the legal arena, yet thousands of law enforcement agencies still use this ancient ritual to screen applicants.

The key to polygraph testing rests on the skill of the examiner, which varies widely, even within the United States. The polygraph is an instrument that solely relies on the interpretation of the operator. Not only is the polygraph examiner trained in the operation of the polygraph instrument, but in the technique of interrogation. Polygraph schools devote a substantial amount of time instructing their students in the practice of interrogation. This boils down to getting a candidate to make damaging admissions. The end result is possible disqualification.

In order to pass the polygraph it is essential to understand the common interrogation tactics polygraph examiners use.

The most commonly used technique employed by the examiner is projecting a sense of empathy for you and your situation. Here the goal is to make you believe he is there to help you. The examiner will downplay the seriousness of the behavior you are being asked about. He may even state that everyone has things in their past they are not proud of, and that no one is perfect.

Make no damaging admissions to the examiner. If you're applying for a police position where you make admissions regarding your background, do it when you complete the application. Making additional statements that are not contained in your application or personal history statement will raise red flags. The issue here is that you won't reveal the truth until you are confronted. Admissions made outside the parameters of the initial application and personal history statement, however small, may disqualify you.

The only exception would be during the "pre-test" interview where you admit to having smoked small amounts of marijuana while in grade school, taking pens home from work, etc.

 

  »  polygraph exam questions

Gone are the days a polygraph examiner asked if you ever had sex with a farm animal. Pre-employment polygraph examinations fall under the guidelines for employment interviewing of title VII of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, so examiners are obliged to conduct the examinations in a way that would not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, etc. One central principle of ethical standards is that relevant questions be related to the job applied for.

 Here are typical questions asked on the police polygraph test:

Did you tell the complete truth on your job application?
Have you deliberately withheld information from your job application?
Have you ever been fired from a job?
Since the age of ( ) have you committed an undetected crime?
Since the age of ( ) have you been convicted of a crime?
During the past year, have you used marijuana more than ( ) per ( )?
Have you used any other narcotic illegally in the past ( ) years?
Have you sold marijuana or other narcotics illegally in the past ( ) years?
Have you ever stolen more than ($ ) worth of merchandise in any one year from any of your employers?
Have you even stolen more than ($ ) in moneys in any one year from any of your employers?
Have you ever used a system to cheat one of your employers?
Have you ever had your driver’s license suspended or revoked?
Have you ever had any traffic citations in the past five ( ) years?
Have you deliberately lied to any of these questions?

Values, such as age and number of years is determined by the specific department.

The method used by John E. Reid & Associates employs four standard relevant questions:

In the last five years did you steal any merchandise from previous employers?
In the last five years did you steal any money from previous employers?
In the last ten years did you take part in or commit any serious crime?
Did you falsify any information on your application?

These standard questions may be modified depending on admissions made during the pretest (e.g., a revision may be, “In the last five years did you steal any merchandise other than minor office supplies?"). In addition to the standard questions a fifth relevant question (e.g., concerning the illegal purchase or sale of merchandise; use of narcotics) may be added.

The Reid firm also uses what it regards as control questions in pre-employment interviews. Control questions include, “Did you ever steal anything in your life?" and “Did you lie to any of the questions you answered during the application process for this job?" It is not clear, however, how the Reid pre-employment control questions differ from the relevant questions. It seems reasonable to suppose that both truthful and non-truthful subjects (in terms of the relevant questions) may be just as concerned with the subject matter of the control questions as they are with the relevant questions. It is also not clear why employers would be less concerned with the control than with the relevant questions.

  Pass The Police Polygraph Test  - Be Prepared Visit: Police Exam

»  my view on the police polygraph exam

It is important to know what a polygraph is, and isn't. First of all a polygraph is not capable of detecting a lie. The polygraph instrument, be it the antique model called an analog, or the new computerized box collects physiological data from three areas of the human body. Two rubber tubes are placed over the police candidates chest and abdomen. These tubes record your breathing activity. Two metal splints are attached to your fingers. These metal plates record sweat gland activity. And, a blood pressure cuff (exactly what doctors use) is wrapped around your upper arm to measure cardiovascular activity.

Why are police applicants a train wreck when it comes to taking a polygraph? Because this is the intention of the polygraph examiner. He or she wants to be in complete control over you. And with that comes the duress and humiliation most people encounter. I have taken the polygraph exam four times in my career. I know that helpless feeling, believe me. I have also reviewed numerous polygraph reports completed by these examiners so I have an inside perspective, and I'll share that with you because I feel the polygraph is an unreliable tool, and shouldn't be used to screen police applicants. Any background investigator worth his salt can uncover the same "red-flag" areas the polygraph professes to do. What the polygraph boils down to is an extreme interrogation, which is coercion, which is illegal for police to do to a suspect, let alone a bright eyed applicant.

Here is a fictitious example of the completed report I would receive as part of my background investigation of a police candidate. The final polygraph report always started with an introductory paragraph such as this:

"Bruce Stewart arrived at our office 15 minutes prior to his scheduled appointment. He was dressed professionally and appeared calm and relaxed. During the pre-test interview Stewart admitted to having smoked marijuana three times while in high school, and has never used hard drugs. He stated he has never stolen anything of value from an employer, other than minor office supplies such as pens and pencils worth approximately $25 dollars. Stewart said he has not falsified his employment application, nor has he ever received disciplinary action from an employer to include ever being terminated, suspended, or being asked to resign from any job. The polygraph examination was administered at 1:00pm and concluded at 2:45pm. No further information was obtained. See below for results of examination."

Then there were 10 questions listed with the polygraph examiner's opinion as to how truthful they were answered. These opinions fell into three categories: truthful, untruthful, and inconclusive. The fact is that almost every polygraph report I reviewed had at least one untruthful on it. So, where did that leave me? My agency used the polygraph as a tool, but never put a lot of stock in the exam. The only thing I could do was call the applicant and ask them to come in. In my office I would tell them there was a question on the poly that was considered untruthful. The applicant often had a logical explanation. Something that triggered a reaction like, "A close friend of mine overdosed on drugs years ago so when I was asked the question on drugs that's what came to mind. I explained that to the examiner." 

Is this something I could ask a relative or friend later in the background investigation -- you bet. Am I going to disqualify a candidate because there was an "untruthful", but he/she offered a logical explanation -- no way. The applicant was given the benefit of the doubt. Though the untruthful answer was noted, (if it was in fact untruthful), it was always something I could check out further in the process. Will a police agency disqualify you for one, even two untruthful answers on the polygraph and not give you the opportunity to explain what you were thinking at the time?, I would hope not. Background investigators are experienced well trained police professionals who can see past this unproven method of detecting lies. If any police agency would disqualify a police applicant because of a bump or two in their polygraph results then that department isn't worth the effort. Move on to a police department that has a grip on reality and treats the police polygraph exam as it should be...a flawed tool.

 

 

Police Exam Breakthrough
Avoid the stress & pass the test. 100% Guaranteed!

 

 

 

 

contact us  l  about us  l  © police test .info 2007