Failed Poly

[Nodaedul]

There's a several hundred page document about how to beat a lie detector test that was leaked by an NSA whistleblower. Maybe you guys should read it? It shows you how to give them what they want to see.

[stilly]

I failed LAPD. I then passed SB County Probation. I was on the wait list for an academy date and received a letter indicating that I wasn't accepted because the results from the poly said I associate with people who use drugs. What a f'n joke! I was so pissed off. Such BS and so not true. I went to school for 5 years to get my Bachelors in Criminal Justice at CSULB and attempted several agencies and gave up for now. I was told by my background investigator that I'm a fantastic candidate, but I should aim for a smaller department where they overlook little things, and to try again in about two years. I feel like I wasted my time in school with a useless degree, should've majored in Business or something more useful, at least I'd have something to fall back on. I have friends with Sociology degrees, Political Science, and they couldn't find work in their field so they became cops. I can't even become a cop right now and I'm left with a degree I can't really use. It's frustrating. I'm thinking of just joining the military as an officer, going to OCS using my degree there.

Keep trying, I know I will in about two years again before I get too old for the cut off.

I have an AA in admin of justice because I wanted to be a cop. Actually, I tried out for the CHP three times and never got past the oral. Bottom line is this, I think they (hiring agencies) do not really want folks who get schooling in police work. Hey whoopty doo, we will teach you that when you go to the academy. That was what I learned, I see that having a more diverse or useful degree might help you better. Get a degree in public administration, computer science, accounting and then that might open the doors for forensic accounting, computer information retrieval, Etc. IF I were in your shoes I would look to see if I could go get a Masters in Public Administration or maybe another BS in that or Business Administration. It sux that the counselors did not tell you any of this. They never told me either. I was so dead set on being a cop/detective one day. Now look at me, I wasted 10 years working as an enforcement officer for a corrupt city to only get laid off and now I have decided to use my BS in Information Systems Management. Once I get back in the saddle I plan to get a Masters in something more useful, but I think the bottom line is that any police based college courses you take should be AFTER you are hired on. Maybe I am wrong, but that was just what seemed to be implied after talking with various people in different agencies.

[Che762x39]

It is one small step. Wait till you talk to the psy doc.

One guy must have flunked his, we was beating his steering wheel like a nut in the parking lot.

After 30 years as a cop this is my opinion. Take a aptitude test to see if you have any talent for it. It is sad when I was a FTO and I have a trainee with a CJ degree who was just a frat boy and had no heart for working the streets.

[Notorious]

The polygrapher is usually a contracted person who has nothing to do with your processing otherwise and is not the person who gives a rip about how you will stand up. It's not in his report that is submitted to the department either.

I've read enough of those polygraph reports and all they concentrate on is how you change your answers or all the stuff you admit which will DQ you.

[skyscraper]

Just went through two and passed. Coming out I realize that it seems they also want to see if you will crack under pressure and start second guessing yourself. Maybe this is an indication to them if you will stand up to examination in court?

[Notorious]

Witch science. Polygraphers with their own subjective agendas, sometimes not in your best interest. Inadmissible in any court of law for evidentiary purposes. Measures objective reactions which can be triggered by a whole range of physiological conditions not related to telling the truth which then is interpolated with your "honesty".

Any questions?

[fizux]

Don't feel bad. Polys suck for everyone.

I yakked at the end I my first -- mostly I stressed myself out in the pre-poly interview talking about giving a bottle of champagne as a wedding present to two army friends when they were both months shy of 21.

I've taken several polys since then, and they are only marginally better once you know what's coming.

If the department where you are applying is so regimented that common sense isn't used in the hiring process, you need to examine whether that is the environment you want to work in.

Get some applications in elsewhere. Try applying outside of your geographic comfort zone. Remember money talks and BS walks -- hypothetically, if you've got three years as a deputy in Modoc County when you try to lateral, many departments will recognize that they won't have to pay for POST and your track record will speak louder than some poly result.

[mirage2887]

Dont be discouraged by one department's polygraph. Trust me after I was told that I did not FAIL but I did not PASS my test I was like WTF. I ended up withdrawing from that local LE department due to them not having time to re-poly me, an I also did not get a FAIL on my record for the poly so the good which is a good thing.

I did however pass a federal agent position polygraph which was in my opinion much more professional an a bit harder than the local LE poly. Got me thinking how I was able to pass a federal position poly but not a local LE poly.

[rikitikijave]

I was told during the LASD poly that I registered deceptive for stealing from work. They told me to write a statement on why I might have done so. Then they left me there for 45 minutes. When they came back I gave them a piece of paper that said "I have no idea." The next call I got was "You start the academy in March." I have since found out, that it is just one of the things they do to try and get you to break.

[pismopal]

The poly certainly does "weed people out" but sometimes..as often as not it weeds out the good candidates. It should only be a tool not a deciding factor. Case in point..my nephew, a former Marine intelligence officer who had been cleared for top secret, gave briefings to the top brass..failed an FBI entrance poly. Total BS..he got another examiner who gave him a good to go. Entirely subjective..and as I said, only a tool. The game for police personnel is to drop a huge amount of candidates for whatever reason so the selection process at least appears to be highly selective...when in fact it is often arbitrary, unfair and disingenuous. LAPD 1964-1989

[pismopal]

Appeal...appeal and tell the truth and stick to it. Ask for a reexamination. Dont just move on and apply elsewhere..the poly thing will always be there.

[RobertSmith]

Don't worry about failing. It's a measurement of fight or flight re-actions.

Start exercising a month in advance. Exercise the day of your exam. And tell the truth.

You will pass.

[ankyle62]

This is the same situation we had in the early 90's when there were literally 1 position for every hundred or more applicants. Then the economy boomed and all of the sudden, everyone was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Nothing new under the sun.

Yep, every testing I went to had at least 500 people for 1-3 positions. I took a break from applying to finish up college. You can be hot stuff, but still not good enough to beat out that many candidates for that one spot.

[Notorious]

This is the same situation we had in the early 90's when there were literally 1 position for every hundred or more applicants. Then the economy boomed and all of the sudden, everyone was scraping the bottom of the barrel. Nothing new under the sun.

[Baconator]

As bad as this is going to sound....the bad economy has done a couple things to help the hiring process. First, theRE are more applicants with less available positions to fill. That allows us to be more selective than we may have been in the past. Second, by being able to hire a better applicant that helps to solve some of the stupidity issues we have been dealing with when we hired people if they had a pulse. Third, there are a lot of good people getting out of the military and applying for jobs.

No system is perfect but I see ours as being better today than it was yesterday!!

Until the economy improves and those that never wanted to be cops quit in droves to go back to their office jobs.

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