The recommendations in the following memo are on the agenda for the Board of Civil Service Commissioners' 6 December 2001 meeting. For discussion of these policy changes, see the AntiPolygraph.org message board thread "LAPD Dropping Requirement to Pass Polygraph?"
Date: October 16, 2001
To: Board of Civil Service Commissioners
From: Margaret M. Whelan, General Manager
Subject: PRE-EMPLOYMENT POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION PROCESS
Recommendation: Give 21 Days' Notice of Intention to:
"The two working days immediately following a candidate's interview, physical abilities test,orperformance test, or pre-employment polygraph test shall be designated as a review period during which the candidate may submit a protest against the conduct of his/her test or the competency of the raters..."
"Unsupported claims of misconduct and all claims against the judgment of the raters in assigning scores for essay, interview, physical abilities,orperformance, or pre-employment polygraph tests shall not be grounds for a protest under Sec. 4.20, 4.22 or 4.23..."
"A candidate shall be considered for disqualification on the basis of the results of the polygraph examination if the candidate's polygraph examination results were either deceptive or inconclusive due to the use of countermeasures, or the candidate failed to cooperate during the course of the examination."
"The polygraph examination shall be conducted by a qualified polygraph operator of the Los Angeles Police Department or a designee, using standard equipment and accepted techniques."
Background: On January 12, 2001, the Board of Civil Service Commissioners approved the administration of pre-employment polygraph examinations for all Police Officer/Police Specialist candidates (Attachment 1). The necessary funds to implement pre-employment polygraph examinations were included in the Los Angeles Police Department's (LAPD's) 2000-2001 budget, and on February 12, 2001, the pre-employment polygraph examination process was implemented. As of September 30, 2001, 1,450 pre-employment polygraph examinations have been conducted.
The pre-employment polygraph examination is considered to be an administrative tool in support of Police Officer/Police Specialist background investigations, and is used to ensure that the investigations truly reflect a candidate's prior conduct. Since the implementation of the pre-employment polygraph examination process, the Personnel Department and the LAPD have identified several issues for the Board of Civil Service Commissioners' consideration.
Discussion: The Police Officer examination currently consists of seven different test parts: the written test (multiple choice and essay), civil service interview, background investigation, physical abilities test,
medical evaluation, and written and oral psychological evaluations. Each test part has its own re-take restrictions and expiration dates, and candidates must pass each test part to be eligible for appointment consideration by the LAPD.
Police Officer/Police Specialist candidates participate in the pre-employment polygraph examination after an extensive background interview, if no disqualifying background issues were identified. The examination is used to confirm the information provided by the candidate during the background interview. If the candidate does not successfully complete the pre-employment polygraph examination, there is a strong concern that the candidate is withholding disqualifying information. Consequently, staff cannot certify that the Police Officer/Police Specialist candidate is qualified for hiring consideration by the LAPD, and the LAPD is not willing to hire a candidate with an unsuccessful polygraph examination. Considering the importance of the pre-employment polygraph examination, it is recommended that it be designated as a separate test part. As a separate test part, all candidates must successfully complete this examination to be eligible for appointment consideration by the LAPD. The results of the pre-employment polygraph examination will remain valid for one year, which is consistent with the one-year expiration of the background interview. Additionally, the pre-employment polygraph examination will have a one year re-take restriction, which again is consistent with the one-year re-take restriction for the background interview.
To provide a candidate with recourse if the pre-employment polygraph examination is conducted inappropriately, staff recommends that the pre-employment polygraph examination be covered under Civil Service Commission Rules 4.22 and 4.24. Under Rule 4.22, the candidate will be permitted to submit a protest against the conduct or competency of the polygraphist within two working days immediately following the polygraph examination. This would include claims of fraud or prejudice. Additionally, under Rule 4.24, unsupported claims of misconduct and all claims against the judgment of the polygraphists in evaluating the candidate's polygraph test results shall not be grounds for protest.
In the January 3, 2001 report to the Board of Civil Service Commissioners, Personnel Department Policy 1.13(b) was amended to include the following:
"A candidate shall be considered for disqualification on the basis of the results of the polygraph examination if the candidate's polygraph examination results were either deceptive or inconclusive due to the use of countermeasures, or the candidate failed to cooperate during the course of the examination."
Staff is concerned regarding the disqualification of a candidate in the background investigation when no specific background issue has been identified. The failure of a candidate to be forthcoming with information is also addressed by designating the pre-employment polygraph as a separate test part. Those candidates who are determined to be deceptive with no admissions or who use countermeasures during the pre-employment polygraph examination will be required to distance themselves by one year from the date of their polygraph examination. This is consistent with actions taken for candidates who fail to be forthcoming with adverse information during the background investigation.
Since the implementation of the pre-employment polygraph examination process, there have been several cases in which candidates have come forward and advised staff that they cannot identify any reason for a
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deceptive polygraph result. For those candidates, the LAPD investigating officers have conducted follow-up interviews with the candidates, where appropriate, in attempts to identify the issues that may have influenced the polygraph results. If the background investigator and the candidate are able to identify issues that possibly influenced the polygraph examination result, a report is prepared to the General Manager. This report explains the issues and includes a recommendation regarding whether the candidate should be permitted to take a second pre-employment polygraph examination. Pursuant to the Board's action on January 12, 2001, the General Manager has the authority to grant another pre-employment polygraph examination.
Staff also recommends that wording be added to a provision in Personnel Department Policy 1.13(b), which would allow pre-employment polygraph examinations to be conducted by either the Los Angeles Police Department or a designee. Currently, Policy 1.13(b) states in part, "The polygraph examination shall be conducted by a qualified polygraph operator of the Los Angeles Police Department..." With the implementation of the pre-employment polygraph examination process, the polygraphist resources in the LAPD's Scientific Investigation Division have been stretched to its maximum capacity, and a backlog of polygraph examinations developed. To address this issue, the Personnel Department, with concurrence from the LAPD, entered into a contract to use outside polygraphists on an as-needed basis. In so doing, the LAPD is still retaining oversight of the outside polygraphists' work product. Due to the need for an increased number of polygraphists, staff recommends that Policy 1.13(b) be revised to acknowledge the periodic use of outside polygraphists.
Conclusion: Since the implementation of the pre-employment polygraph examination process, the Public Safety Employment Division and the LAPD have been working together to refine the process. Both Departments believe that designating the pre-employment polygraph examination as a separate test part is critical to eliminate the possible employment of Police Officer/Police Specialist candidates who are employment risks. By adopting staff's recommendations, candidates who are unsuccessful in the pre-employment polygraph examination will be eligible to take another polygraph examination in one year, in conjunction with a new background interview. Additionally, they will have the right to file a protest against the pre-employment polygraph examination if they can provide evidence that it was administered improperly or the polygraphist used fraud or prejudice in evaluating their polygraph results. Staff's final recommendation acknowledges the fact that outside polygraphists will be used on an as-needed basis to process Police Officer pre-employment polygraph examinations.
Submitted by: [signed]
Gail P. Thomas
Reviewed by: [signed]
Phyllis M. Lynes
Approved by: [signed]
Margaret M. Whelan
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