I made application to a suburban PD in my local metro area about 4 months ago.  Everything was clear, fine and ready to go.  However, during the poly for said dept, (I'd unfortunately NOT seen this site), being the overly-voluntary type that I am, I admitted to the examiner before the testing that I'd been loaned a piece of company property that I didn't return after quitting (I'd honestly forgotten about it, and didn't realize I still had it until more than six months into a new job.  Neither my employer nor I realized I'd not returned it, and I would have given it back once I realized I had it, but by then it was completely outdated, literally useless in the industry, and about 2000 miles away.  The property was worth about $75 when I left the company, and maybe $10 at the time I discovered I'd not returned it).

Other than that, I've never "stolen" anything from an employer in my life.  During the poly interview however, the polygrapher made me feel like a guilty scumbag for admitting this.

The poly went more or less fine, but during the question about "are you lying about theft from an employer, apart from what you've told me?", I kept thinking about what I'd admitted to.  I KNOW it made my breath and pulse race.

After the test, he told me to sign a piece of paper to confirm my results, and that he'd 'try' to convince the police I was a good guy, since in his words, "You seem like a very forthcoming young man, and while I can't speak for the XXX police dept, I think you'll be ok."

Yeah, right.  The PD sent me a rejection letter 4 weeks later.

I have had no criminal convictions at all, stable employment in high dollar corporations, leadership positions, etc.  I wanted to get into police work to make a difference.  It seems I'm gonna be denied that.

One question.  The dept I applied to was a suburb, which collaberates with other suburb PD's on the academy, training, etc.  The metro inner-city itself has it's own academy, investigators, etc.  I am thinking about applying to the main city PD, but I don't want my crappy poly results to follow me.

Should I simply not say that I've taken a polygraph before once the city PD gets to that point?  I don't think there is some central repository for all poly's done by every examiner.  I know that the poly for this PD will be done by a different poly office, due to the size of this area.  As such, unless I volunteer that info, they shouldn't be able to pull up the info that I ever took one.

Anyone been thru this?