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Sergeant1107 makes a good point. Not all agencies hold the same criteria for past drug use. Arizona for example has POST requirements that agencies must abide. Arizona will allow use of hard drugs in a combination total of 5 lifetime uses. This changes at the age of 18 or 21 (I'll have to verify which) to one use of any combination of hard drugs. However, POST requires 7 years since the last use. With that being said you would qualify (from what you have said) to become certified in AZ in the future but not at this time. All of the departments I looked into hold POST requirements as there own. I have not come across one that has more stringent requirements in this regard. Your past will stay with you like a tattoo. Unfortunately, we cannot change our former actions.
Posted by: Sergeant1107 Posted on: Jul 30th, 2005 at 4:40am
If you are I would recommend you tell the truth up front. Tell you background investigator about your use of MDMA. If he DQ’s you, so be it. That is vastly preferable to starting off your police career with a lie.
Some agencies will DQ you for a single tab of MDMA, others will not. For the ones that will not they usually look to see if you have a span of five to seven years from the time you used the drug. During that time they want to see a clean college/employment/military record. Be honest and keep trying until you find an agency that will take you. Dishonesty is a form of corruption and you can’t be a slightly corrupt cop. You are either corrupt or you aren’t – there are no degrees.
I realize that you may have read material on this site and come to the conclusion that the information provided here is intended to allow people to “pass” a polygraph even when they are lying, but it’s not. In my opinion, the information on how to beat the polygraph is provided so that honest people can protect themselves from a false positive. There just isn’t any realistic way of providing that information solely to truthful people, so it is made available to everyone.
You chose to ingest an illegal drug. Now man up and live with the consequences. If that means you can’t become a cop just yet, so be it. If it means you can never become a cop, then deal with that in a way that doesn’t include lying about your past.
Sometimes personal responsibility sucks.
Posted by: leo123456 Posted on: Jul 30th, 2005 at 2:40am
Well that certainly explains a bit more. Do you mind mentioning your current age? That may have been a factor also.
I do agree that experimentation while a minor should be regarded as youthful indescretion. I have a stern eye turned on me because of marijuana usage when I was 13 & 14 years old. That has been 16 years ago but it still counts against me.
Again bear in mind that LEA's share applicant information. Your former admission could jump up and bite you.
Posted by: leo123456 Posted on: Jul 30th, 2005 at 1:21am
well to be quite honest with you i never took the poly. i was dq in the pre test phase because i adimted to usung ecstacy when i was 16 a couple times. He said " Your honesty and intergrity mean alot to his department ,but we have a strict drug policy". I tried to be honest and it didnt work...ill try anything to get my dream job. i think its bullshit to deny employment for something i did when i was a mnor.
Posted by: polyscam - Ex Member Posted on: Jul 30th, 2005 at 1:07am
If you told the truth on an earlier poly you had better hope that the two agencies do not share information. Your current lie could be unmasked if they do share information landing you in the same boat you already sail. If POST (or other like agency, board, etc.) discovers your lie in the future you will most certainly have your certification revoked. Not trying to be negative but this is a very real possibilty. Besides, if you truly do not qualify, you should not get the position regardless of being honest or deceitful. Integrity is a demand for law enforcement.
To answer you cms questions: Do not augment any responses when being asked irrelevants. CMs are for the controls an example of which you provided: "have you ever lied to someone in authority."
Posted by: leo123456 Posted on: Jul 30th, 2005 at 12:23am
im getting ready to have to take a poly in a week or so. ill be honest i plan on lieing on something because i have already been turned down for telling the truth. i plan on using the biting of the tounge countermeasure. my question is when do i actually bike my tought when im being asked the irrelevant questions? when im telling the truth?
" have you ever lied to someone in authority" ill say yes b/c i lied to my mom all the time.so do i bite my tounge or no? im just a little confused on when i should use the countermeasuers.