Have a question.  I'm currently employed by the government and hold a security clearance.  I will be graduating college about this time next year, and I am interested in the Secret Service (or something along those lines).  At any rate, there are two things I'm unclear on.  First:

Do the poly investigators know anything about the candidate prior to hooking them up to the chair?  For an example, if you had someone who was a decorated military officer and fluent in Arabic be treated the same as an ordinary guy coming in for an interview?  Or does the Poly examiner read up on the candidate and think "This guy could be really useful" or "No way in hell I'm letting this guy in"?

I wonder because since I have a clean record, already hold a security clearance, and am currently learning Arabic (hopefully it'll give me an edge these days).  Given my situation, am I likely to be given an "easier" test?  Or is it a matter of the examiner's mood?   

And building on that, does the examiner look at someone and decide pass or fail prior to even switching the machine on?  I know that they tend to accuse you of things in hopes of eliciting some kind of confession, but is that always the case, or is it just a matter of "This guy looks like a scumbag.  I'm going to hassle him."?

Just curious

Dear WillIGetScrewed,

Your clean record, security clearance, and special training will give you no "preferential treatment" during this test.  I did not look like a scumbag, had clearances, military experience, Federal Law Enforcement experience, etc., etc., and was put through the wringer anyway.

The test is a fifty-fifty crapshoot for an FBI applicant, short and sweet.  If you are part of the 50% that passes, yippee, you think the system is great. If you are part of the 50%  "not within acceptable parameters", your life can become a nightmare trying to find a job which needs a security clearance in the future.

It is not scientific, it is claimed to be an "ART."  Threre are alot of fingerpainters out there and they still think it is 99% accurate as you read in newspapers and articles.

The jury is still out on specific incident usage because of inadequate independent studies.  Not all operators are scam artist and any honest one will admit the employment prescreening polygraphs are completely bogus. 

I find it disturbing that anyone could absolutely say that someone is not trustworthy and honorable strictly on test results alone (FBI's policy is to stop all applications upon "not being within parameters" with the polygraph).

Regards

Dear WillIGetScrewed,

Any failure of the pre-employment polygraph by any of the agencies you listed in your last post will be on a permanent record which will be shared with the other federal agencies you listed.

You could get an unbiased polygraph examiner who makes a random mistake of interpretation (easily done since this is not a science) or you could get an examiner with a bias against your history, attitude, or personal looks (yes, discrimination is still a big problem in law enforcement).   It is so frustrating trying to do the right thing when the cards seemed stacked against the honest applicant who trust the system.

They do not want to catch on.  The polygraph is a convenient crutch.  No individual wants to take responsibility for their actions so they "blame" a machine.  It cost less to throw away a good applicant on an unsubstatiated "not within acceptable parameters" than doing a background check.  The amount of applicants exceeds the amount needed.  The old law of supply and demand.

Immediately contest any false positives in writting.  Do not admit to anything in the hope of keeping an application alive.  Any admission is the kiss of death of your application.  Do all appeals in writing via certified return receipt mail.  The system makes mistakes everyday.  The squeaky wheel not only is greased but normally removed and placed on a stand where it does not have to do any work.

My tone is downbeat but anyone who has walked the walk during the last fifteen years of change would not argue my honesty.

Regards.