Dear Readers,

I have to reflect upon my polygraph experiences, life experiences, and over 24 years of Federal Employment (eight military, fifteen civil service).

T.M. Cullen sums it it up in a nutshell.  The polygraph person has no idea what you are thinking.  He has no idea who you are.  He has no idea what you have done.  He has no idea what you have gone through in life.  The only thing he has to work with is what you tell him and what you have written on paper.

It is an interrogation technique, plain and simple. You must believe in it in order for the technique to work.  Show no respect for the polygraph and they automatically dismiss you because they know that they can elicit no responses from you that get them a "gold star" and "another proven failure" notched on their evaluation.  They kind of remind me of a used car salesman.  They will do anything to get a car off the lot, say anything, stretch the truth into a lie as necessary to meet their "quota".

The polygraph examiner is not rewarded for passing a person as much as they are rewarded for finding a reason to fail a person.  This in itself is a severe conflict of interest.  This is a fact.  Polygraph examiners in pre-screening exams are evaluated on the percentage that they can get "written collaboration" of an examinee's guilt.

As I have been told so many times, "a security clearance is a privilage, not a right".  Since when has asking to be given a "Fair Chance" a privilage in this nation?  An applicant does not look for special favors.  All applicants deserve a fair and equal chance.

Regards.

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Letters to congress?  LOL  Most congress persons use such letters to wipe their asses with.

Politicians don't give a "hoot  in hyanissport" about the polygraph!   

Remember the NAS report was done at the REQUEST of congress, which they ended up ignoring.

They don't have to take it, why should they care?

What is needed is to EMBARRASS them about it, if and when some crisis emerges which exposes the ill effects the process is having on national security.

In this respect, winning over the media would be helpful.

TC

TC asked if I would permit my client to get things off his chest at a poly -- in a single word -- NO.

98% of the time, I advise clients to refuse polys.  The other 2%, I will advise my client to take an "exculpatory poly" where the government agrees to drop the charges if my client passes.  In that case, I advise my client of how polys work, the purpose of the control questions, and to not lie to the control question, regardless of how embarrasing or silly they may seem.  Additionally, I insist on my presence at the poly.  Finally, I prohibit any post poly interview.  Only in that case will a poly possibly benefit my client.

Otherwise they are tools for confessions, nothing more.

Jag

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Jag,
Your 2% clients would probably do a lot better if they actually lied to the Control Questions. The CQ is where the examinee has a chance to produce a strong reaction (tracing) to match or better that of the Relevant Questions. By owning up to the worst things you did earlier in life, you not only give the examiner ammo to shoot you with and paint you as a perp, but your admissions lead to weakened CQ reactions ( low scoring tracings) - so best advice is : Dont own up to any earlier in life misconduct - unless of course you're an ex-con with a history of convictions - then admit those only and nothing else.

Leah,

I'm not sure to which post in this thread you are replying, but assuming that your polygraph was with the FBI, you now have a permanent file on record. If you apply for any federal job that requires a National Agency Check, the fact that you have an FBI file will show up, and the file will no doubt be requested and reviewed. At that point your admitted past drug use and/or polygraph results may become an impediment.

i had this terrible experience about taking a lie detector test that really end -up my marriage with my husband. My husband is very paranoid and have this terrible jealousy issues. I worked two job and only had three to four of sleep eveyday. I did try everything to prove to my husband that what his thinking about me that i am a liar and a cheater is all wrong. I actually challenge him to do this lie detector test and I have all my confidence that i am not gonna fail..guess what? i failed the first time and the examiner told us that is very usual to the first time to fail due of emotional feeling..not only that when he evaluate the grade he did it manually and he said that his computer  is not cooperating. We both unhappy aboout it, so the examiner encourage us to retest it again with no any charge..Honestly, i feel like i don't wanna go back there and do it  again because i am worried that i might failed again..and knowing that my husband will make more believe about the computer result than me...well here we are and i am very nervous..we told to the examiner that me and my husband had a little talk and agreed for something before i get the re-test, and he made some correction regarding the questions that my husband wants to here again..the second time, i failed again and i know deep in my heart that i am being faithful to my husband from the beginning of our relationship until we got married. Now my husband is totally convince that i am a cheater because he relied on the polygraph result .I felt so much devastated..insult and humiliated plus the examiner insist that i am hiding something and i am the only one who knew about what the truth is..the last word i said to my husband..i wish there is a miracle happen to prove it to him that i am telling him the truth.. but i think our marriage is over and right now i felt so depress and cheated but i don't know what else to do. That night after we went to the test we have a huge argument where i end up calling a police are because my husband threatend  me.. my husband told me to leave his house and don't come back anymore...this is a veryhurtful experience that i ever have in my life.. i wish all this examiner could be honest and truthful about the job that they've been doing, it's not the cost of what they earned that their betting,  it's the cost of anyone's life and relationship that they've been destroying.

Pinay,

I am saddened, but not surprised, by your unfortunate experience with the polygraph. Television shows such as Dr. Phil, Maury Povich, and Fox's Moment of Truth have disserved the viewing public by popularizing the notion that lie detector testing can provide resolution to questions over marital fidelity.

In fact, polygraph testing has no scientific basis and is inherently biased against the truthful. False positive results (when a truthful person is wrongly called deceptive) are quite common, and many relationships have been destroyed in part due to misplaced reliance on this pseudoscientific procedure. See, for example, the personal statement of Gary Smith (PDF) and the post, Wife left me after polygraph told I cheated.

For a thorough debunking of polygraphy that you can share with your husband, see The Lie Behind the Lie Detector:

https://antipolygraph.org/lie-behind-the-lie-detector.pdf

It's worth pointing out that had you in fact been an unfaithful spouse intent on fooling the lie detector, you could have readily learned how to do so. (It's explained in Chapter 4 of the book.)

Sadly, I must agree with T.M. Cullen's suggestion that you consult a good divorce attorney. If you don't know one in your area, Martindale's Lawyer Locator service, which allows one to search by location and area of expertise, may be helpful:

http://www.martindale.com