I wanted to post my experience here and get any feedback that was offered. I think sharing the story will help me personally as is hard for me to currently swallow. 

I wanted a career in the FBI since I was in college. I graduated from college and enlisted in the US Army with a military intelligence MOS. I served as a reservist and was deployed over seas. I joined a police department and served for a couple years. Then I started my application process to the FBI as a special agent. I made it through the entire process including the Phase 2 testing, medical, the background check, and the polygraph. I failed my initial PT test that would have sent me to adjudication. I waited for over a year and drastically improved my physical fitness. I also experienced some personal issues that kept me from continuing testing right away. 

I got myself squared away and got my file reactivated. I was reactivated and completed a medical update, a background update, and then found out I had to take another polygraph because mine was over two years old. 

This did not worry me in the least as I had nothing to hide, and I had not had any problems with either my police polygraph or my previous FBI polygraph. 

I went to the office and met the new polygrapher. I took the polygraph and it did not go as the others had gone. He told me I had problems on some of the questions. He asked me why I would have responses and I told him I did not know. One of the issues was alcohol use (I don't drink) and the other was had I committed a serious crime (I have not). I explained to him when asked about crime, I think about many disturbing things as an experienced police officer in a big city. He goes on a bit and asks me the same questions and tells me he will send it up to HQ, but he knows they will have issue with my results.

I leave and talk to the applicant coordinator a few days later who tells me I need to take it again because my test was "inconclusive".

I ask if it is possible to get another polygrapher to take my next test, possibly the one who passed me on the original. The coordinator tells me they will try and make that happen. 

I get a call a few days later that another polygrapher is not available and I will have the same guy. This worries me as I did not pass the first one and know I won't have anything different to say during my next polygraph. 

I go to my next polygraph and it is absolutely a horrible experience. I am a decorated soldier and police officer and I felt like I was a criminal by the end of this polygraph. 

We sat down and talked prior to the test and then went through the questions one time. Again the problem with the "serious crime" question. He tries to get me to admit what is causing the problem with the question, which starts to anger me as I am telling the truth. 

He goes and leaves the room for 10 minutes then comes back and says we have to go through the questions again. We do this. I apparently have the same reaction to the serious crime question again as he starts a rudimentary and simple interrogation about what I have done. I am getting mad and tell him I have not committed any crimes. 

I explain to him a thought that popped into my head during one of the questions about crime, relating to a work related use of force incident on duty at the police department. It was an emotionally charged incident for me that I thought about during the polygraph and that particular question. He starts asking me why I did not disclose this before hand. I explain it was something that happened in an every day work situation that was within the scope of my duties and that it had been properly documented at the PD. He tells me he wants me to write it out on an addendum to my SF-86. I write it out clearly, articulating the incident, and that he had asked me to write it down. 

He then moves into a chair seated to close in my personal space and starts a very rookie interrogation of me, trying to get me to admit a crime I did not commit. I was angry during the questions but after found it amusing he would try that on someone who has interrogated and interviewed my share of suspects, victims and witnesses. 

I leave and get into contact with my applicant coordinator a few days later. We have an interesting conversation about my polygraph and my polygrapher. I explain what happened and ask for their opinion. I also want to confirm that what I had written down was not an admission of any wrong doing but a note he asked me to write (I made it very clear in the note what had happened and why I was writing it down). I expressed my anger at the interrogation (I understand it was part of the process). The coordinator tells me in not so many words that there are good and not so good polygraphers. 
During my conversation I am given the impression there have been many complaints about this polygraphers from applicants in my area. I ask what happens if I got another inconclusive result. I though the coordinator told me I would get a retest.

Three weeks go by and I get a ding letter. My letter says I was not selected because there were more qualified applicants. It also says that I was not denied a security clearance and good luck to me. It was from a security element at HQ.

I was stunned. 

I have a friend who was recently dinged on the FBI process after his polygraph and his letter said told him not to contact the FBI, gave him the process for appeal, and let him know how to request his file using the freedom of information act.

I don't know what the differences in the letter means but it sounds like he was rejected for failing the poly. 

Did I fail the 2nd polygraph? Can the polygrapher add his two cents into a recommendation failing me? 

Would they go through the trouble of three years of testing, after I had already passed one of their polygraphs to fail me because of a seemingly troubled new polygrapher gives me two inconclusive results?

Why would they not take the step to try it with another polygrapher, as they had already spend so much time, energy and money to get me to this spot at the end?

As you can imagine I am very disappointed and a little disgusted. I need to contact my applicant coordinator one last time to ask about the letter I received. 

Can anyone answer any of my questions? Offer any advice? How many qualified people that should be protecting all of us from unseen threats are denied the opportunity because of an idiot sitting in front of a box who probably has not been in combat in a foreign land on behalf of their country or on the street in the city arresting violent offenders?

Are you kidding me?

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It is standard operating procedure for polygraphers to accuse the examinee of deception and/or withholding information and to interrogate when the charts are scored as "deception indicated." So it sure sounds like you failed.

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Yes. He can include his own characterizations of the polygraph examination in his report. Because the FBI has a deliberate policy of not audio- or video-recording polygraph examinations, the polygrapher can be confident that any examinee who challenges his account of what was said in the polygraph suite will be unable to prove his case.

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You bet. The FBI has made passing a polygraph an absolute requirement for employment.

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It's not their money. And those in charge at the FBI and other federal agencies simply don't care about the injustice they have dealt you (and many others).

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The FBI has a pre-employment polygraph failure rate on the order of 50%. Given that polygraphy has no scientific basis, it's clear that many qualified, honest applicants are being falsely branded as liars and wrongly blacklisted (for life) from FBI employment. As I've stated earlier, I think that the FBI's pre-employment polygraph is a risk not worth taking.

You'll want to write a polite but firm letter to the FBI contesting your polygrapher's false accusation of deception. This letter should be added to your permanent FBI file and will document the fact that you do not tacitly concur with the accusation of deception.

You'll also want to file a Privacy Act request for your entire FBI file, including (but not limited to) all documentation associated with your polygraph examination. It is not unheard of for polygraphers to exaggerate or even fabricate admissions. Because they are rated on the basis of admissions obtained after "deception indicated" charts, they have an incentive to overstate an examinee's admissions, and with the FBI's no-recording policy, they face little risk in doing so.

I received my FBI rejection letter about a week in a half ago.  I am actually appealing the polygraph results.  My first polgraph, the polygrapher told me he could not read it, because I was too calm.  Then I was asked what I was thinking about?  I was allowed to retake it two months later.  Apparently they read that one and deemed it a failure.  Thus, I am appealing the results to the applicant coordinator.

You may want to start by employing your own polygrapher to quality control the video of the test and the charts themselves. 

One of the inherent problems with polygrpahers is tha tthere is no psychometric test on them at the classroom stage. I feel that too many polygrapher do not have the correct mental acuity and personality to become wielders of the doomsday sword.

If even one of them has the gunslinger mentality then its ONe too many - and the majority are of that ilk.

One only has to peruse the content of 'The Trolls' that posted here regularly a few months back. It is scary to think that the so-called 'Illuminati' of APA got their gigglies by posing here under grandiose nicks - mouthing off like the maniacs they are accused of aping.

Only when the public clamour and petition the new govt about its promise of change - and include the polyfoolery therein - only then will govt start to take note that there are too many loose cannons in the polygraph industry.

WOWitisover,

If you feel your polygraph examiner acted in an unethical manner, you should most certainly report him. However, don't expect it to be easy to get the agency to investigate your complaint. It may take several attempts and you may need to seek help from your elected official to get some attention. It seems that's the only method to get a response. 

I was successful in getting the agency to investigate my unethical polygraph examiner.  However, the FBI would only tell me that it was investigating my complaint and that it had dealt with the matter--that's it. Who knows if the examiner was even investigated? I have nothing to go on but the agency's word.

I wouldn't expect to get any other information about your polygraph examiner, including previous complaints. Good luck to you.

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With regard to the FBI polygraph, my advice would be to "just say no." The risks are not worth the potential rewards. Polygraph countermeasures (which you'll find explained in Chapter 4 of The Lie Behind the Lie Detector) can at best reduce the risk of a false positive outcome, they are no guarantee of passing this invalid test.

It's based on a false premise.  Namely, that if there is a consistent spike in the subject's sympathetic response when answering a question, they are probably being deceptive.  All one can really conclude is that the person is "reacting" to the question.  Could be a lot of things other than deception.

It's like saying a person with a high temperature must have a virus.  All one can really conclude is that the person's immune system is fighting something.  Could be many things.

Of course, preemployment polygraphs are nothing more than INTERROGATIONS disguised as a test for truthfulness.  Most operators probably know the machine isn't really testing for truthfulness.  Doesn't matter.  It IS an effective interrogation tool to use on gullible people.

TC