Ok my planetary friend Ill come out of retirement briefly to rehash old arguements- But first... I remember a guy (I think) who used to post here years ago going by the mysterious psudonym "Beech Trees". He was arrogant, and quite full of himself which got my attention. Of course, all he knew about the polygraph was what he had read by people who had failed, or George's research, but I repeat myself. What I liked about Mr.Trees was the way he would describe toying around with polygraphers, using a variety of sophisticated methods...stop me if this gets personal. While the recently disappointed LAPD kids who had just failed were thrilled to have such a erudite champion, what I heard from this guys posts was an individual not getting accustomed to failure and lashing out at a tool. I am quite sure he was under employed (at least in his mind) and considered life quite unfair. I guess my observation is that if someone is failing multiple tests, stop blaming a device and look deeper. Truly that which repeats is not due to chance. Successfull applicants simple dont post here as a rule, and like I tell the folks on my department, its preferable to take advice from those with balance. This is not to say that no one has been cheated out of a viable career shot by the polygraph, indeed some of them post here, but I believe they are the exceptions and I will rely on my own experience, not the assertions that are so common on these pages. See my previous and believe it. Applicants have also been cheated by sloppy backgrounds, incorrect urinalysis, false credentials of the competition, nepotism, gut feelings, personal prejudice, the MMPI (a whole topic here to explore) and Al Gore wanting to reinvent government! People may have been arrested by an officer fresh from a Reid and Assoc. class on nonverbal behavior...do I need to go on? See any hard science in the above mentioned? Life is filled with unfairness. I saw a psychologist fail a gal once because she had been abused as a kid, with the rationale that she would not be able to handle a child abuse investigation! I doubt if there is a website set up to handle applicant abuse of that type, but I am not bored enough to look. You made a comment about "torque". I feel nothing of the sort, as my livlihood in no way depends on the polygraph. If it disappeared tomorrow, I would barely notice as I have a traditional case load. My comments are based on long experience, close observation, and a general lack of hysteria on my part. I came to this site originally when my then Sheriff wanted me to make recommendations to him about availability of technology to support criminal investigations. The reason I come back periodically is unknown and not rational. But then, I have been known to pet my neighbors 3 legged dog, and give money to crack whores pretending to need a bus ticket!
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