CU4life,
I am sorry to hear of your experience. Regrettably, what you describe does not surprise me. AntiPolygraph.org has been contacted by a substantial number of law-enforcement officers in your very situation. As matter of fact, false positive polygraph results have been reported to us by numerous current police officers attempting transfer to agencies in Florida.
Quote: After declaring my innocence and being offered the opportunity to "talk about what might be bothering me", the thought of conducting a real background check was never mentioned.
This is a common ploy used by examiners when attempting to elicit damaging admissions. One should
never make any type of admissions in the “post-test” interrogation phase.
Furthermore, despite comments from prominent polygraphers that polygraph screening should never be the sole determining factor in hiring decisions, it often is.
Quote: As a caution to anyone applying, I was only informed after the "test", that for many applicants, it often times takes several attempts and typically only one percent successfully complete the entire background investigation process.
You may wish to read
The Lie Behind the Lie Detector (available free on this site) to learn about how to use polygraph countermeasures to manipulate polygraph “tests” and create passing results. If they will allow you a 2nd chance (some agencies do), you may want to return, equipped with this knowledge.
There are two main reasons why law enforcement agencies are enamored of polygraph screening despite the near universal opposition of academia. First, the polygraph provides powerful leverage for interrogators. Unsophisticated subjects, fearing the "test" will pick up on any hint of deception, often make admissions to the examiner that they would not otherwise make. Those who tell the truth and "fail" anyway are considered acceptable losses. Second, polygraphs “tests” provide bureaucrats with an attractive way to cover themselves in the unavoidable situations where a bad hiring decision is made. Aldrich Ames brought up this very point in his
Letter to Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.
Despite these hollow justifications, polygraph screening is
wrong and
should be abolished. It falsely accuses 1000s of people each year while deceptive persons who do a minimal amount of research easily pass. I encourage you to defend your reputation from your polygrapher's charges. Write a letter to the chief of the department that rejected you, demanding a “re-test.”
Most importantly, please consider visiting our
"Get Involved" page and taking the time to write some prominent representatives to encourage them to repeal the government exemptions to the Employee Polygraph Protection Act. Furthermore, if you are already a Florida resident, I strongly suggest writing your state representatives and your police labor union. Florida appears to be among the 3-4 states where polygraph "screening" (and therefore polygraph abuse) is most prevalent (the others being CA, AZ, and CO). Note that police labor unions in a number of other states have been sucessful in getting legislation abolishing polygraph screening passed.