Hi, I recently took the polygraph from a very large police department. Problems during the test was that he complained that I was breathing too slowly several times. The type of test was one where they asked the same questions about 3 times each in a random order. The test administrator at the end of the test came back in ( after 15-30 mins of me sitting in the room alone ) and immediatly told me I failed and that I had used drugs before ( which I havnt ), and went on lecturing me for 10 minutes+ about telling the truth He also said that he had talked to his supervisor while he was gone ( which I didnt believe ) and supposedly he said that I just needed to tell the truth and it would be fine. I had nothing to tell him because I dont have a previous drug history. At the end as we were walking out he said that I would be notified by mail but that its only a formality , implying again that I had failed, but then he threw in that  I would be notified to whether or not I would be scheduled for another polygraph or be scheduled with a backround investigator. I scored very well on the interview and have done fine up to this part in the process, now im going to be very dissapointed if I get booted for telling the truth.

Thanks in advance for any replies or information i get!

based on what you have written with the post interrogation it sounds like you may be deemed "DI" (deception indicated)

George any thoughts?

There's really no way of knowing for sure whether your polygraph charts were actually scored as "deception indicated" or whether the polygrapher was just bluffing (as suggested by your polygrapher's parting remark). You'll have to wait for the letter. Let's keep our fingers crossed.

So I assume I got deception indicated for breathing too slowly? I was just trying to remain calm in a stressful situation, how can they say I was decieving them by trying to keep myself calm?  ... still havnt recieved results... it will be a little while, but yes im definitly keeping my fingers crossed.

Thanks guys.

Polygraphers generally interpret slow breathing to the result of a conscious effort to manipulate the "test" results. As such, it's considered to be a polygraph countermeasure (albeit one that is entirely ineffective and readily detectable).

The fact that you were specifically interrogated about drug use suggests that if indeed you failed, your failure is not necessarily attributable to slow breathing. Rather, it suggests that you may have reacted more strongly to the question(s) about illegal drug use than to the associated "control" question(s).

My husband also just took his first polygraph (ever) for a major metropolitan Police Department-within the last few days.  He was told that he failed, but not told why.  He also had done verywell up until that point.  He also was told he may or may not get a phone call to let him know if he could retest in the future, and when.
The thing is, my husband is such a good citizen and has been his whole life!  He did disclose two minor instances in his past, (eating a grape at a grocery store) and borrowing money from work- at the suggestion of his boss (he repaid the following day).  Other than that, he has a great track record- no drugs, alcohol, crimes- has proven himself many times (in work and personal life) to be a man of honor and responsibility.  You look up "upstanding citizen" in the dictionary and there's his picture!!  So what happened??!
He was devastated!  And the department is losing what could have eventually been one of their best officers-honestly!
Anyway, the only thing I can think of is that he was extremely nervous the whole time--heart racing, sweating, probably breathing irregularly.  He said he felt like he was lying/guilty when he said his name!  Could he have failed because of his anxiety/nerves?  You would think they would account for that, given that people dream of these jobs for their whole lives, and that there is so much riding on these tests!
For a man with nothing to hide, I was sure he would pass.  Does anyone know if there is a way to find out more about his test?  Such as why he failed?
-baddog2005

contact the agency and see if he can appeal or a report of the findings, Good luck......