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A forum for free and open discussion of polygraph-related topics
Posted by Aunty Agony
- Oct 16, 2018, 11:34 PMQuoteI'm about to apply for dispatch but I'm some what nervous since one of the disqualifications is lying! and I know they will do a lie detector test on me. Can anyone help me out don't know what to answer in the "have you ever used marijuana?" I really haven't gotten high it was just one puff cause I don't even know how to smoke and stupid me just took one hit for fun and of course I didn't get high but should I check off "never" or be honest and put 2years ago which that was the time I did that! I'm so scared I really want to get into law enforcement everything else is clear is just that question that has me bad I'm in Riverside, CA :-/
What you can do is either include your minor marijuana use in your application disclosure and answer honestly during the polygraph test, OR omit your minor marijuana use from your application disclosure and never ever admit to the polygraph examiner even if he seems to know all about it.
What you do *not* do is omit your minor marijuana use from your application disclosure, and then let the polygraph examiner bully you into an admission. I don't like to be harsh but if you do that then you don't deserve the job -- not because you are a druggie, which you're not, but because you are foolish.
What you should also understand is that all this fuss about toking a spliff now and then is not in any way about the evil of drugs, and the tyranny of the polygraph exam is not in any way about honesty and lying. These are social tools used by a person with a little bit of power, such as a police detective or a potential employer, to make you feel bad about yourself, so that you'll feel grateful for having a crap job and not being in jail.
Posted by carla
- Oct 15, 2018, 10:16 PMI'm about to apply for dispatch but I'm some what nervous since one of the disqualifications is lying! and I know they will do a lie detector test on me. Can anyone help me out don't know what to answer in the "have you ever used marijuana?" I really haven't gotten high it was just one puff cause I don't even know how to smoke and stupid me just took one hit for fun and of course I didn't get high but should I check off "never" or be honest and put 2years ago which that was the time I did that! I'm so scared I really want to get into law enforcement everything else is clear is just that question that has me bad I'm in Riverside, CA :-/
Posted by Aunty Agony
- Oct 02, 2017, 06:20 PMQuoteBut i had been known to be involved in different so called illegal activities
An unfortunate side effect of helping innocent subjects escape the tyranny of the lie detector is the aid unavoidably provided to dishonest candidates who really should be filtered out.
Of course if hiring agencies would drop the polygraph and redirect its funding to better BI processes, perhaps they'd actually improve the candidate pool instead of just reducing it at random. You'll note there is no book titled The Lie Behind the Background Investigation.
Posted by scott fire
- Oct 01, 2017, 03:41 PMi took my polygraph a few months back and tried different things i read on the internet to try and fake my answers and it completely worked. Not to inciminate myself too much. But i had been known to be involved in different so called illegal activities and stressed myself out so bad to every controlled answer and calm during others and passed. Know i work for law enforcement. And to those who fail being honest even. Dont. It will not matter
Posted by xenonman
- Nov 01, 2016, 01:59 PMQuote from: YoungGun on Mar 17, 2010, 05:17 AMQuote from: elismom on Mar 11, 2010, 02:34 PM
My advice to anyone...avoid the test if you can help it. There is obviously no rhyme or reason to it and if I can fail it about drug use, anyone can.I've never been so upset and shocked in my life.
The same thing happened to me, and it is hard to recover from; emotionally and professionally. I graduated from college last year with a Bachelor's Degree in Law Enforcement and went through a background investigation for the Border Patrol. I failed my first polygraph with them on the "Have you ever used or been associated with any illegal drug activity or use in the past?" question and it was the one that got me. Never even knew what pot smelled like until about 4 months ago (working in dorms at a university).
I was so upset from failing due to something that I am so against that I dreaded taking another polygraph, but when you want to find a job as a police officer you don't have a lot of options when it comes to avoiding polygraphs.
I applied for another PD in Wyoming and passed everything gloriously, except for the drug question. Nothing else, just the drug question. Its now a stigma in my brain and some days I will ask myself randomly "Have you ever used drugs??" and follow it with a stern NO, because I know its the truth- no matter what that damn test says otherwise.
I barely managed to get a job working security at a university. BARELY- because of my failed polygraph results.
Keep your head up and know that you are NOT alone, but don't put too much faith into finding a dispatch or comm. center job unless they don't require a poly.
If you are able to obtain it, try to acquire the entire file pertaining to your employment application, through the FOIA.
As I've indicated various times here, the background check may be just as much to blame as the polygraph for ruining your chance of employment.
Posted by xenonman
- Nov 01, 2016, 01:53 PMQuote from: elismom on Mar 11, 2010, 02:34 PMSo I read some information about polygraphs before I went to take mine. I am taking a test for Fairfax County Dispatcher testing, not a police officer, not the CIA but a dispatcher. I saw some of these websites around and thought wow they are just a bunch of paranoid, conspiracy theorists who obviously have some character flaws. I admit, this was my thought when i first looked at your website.
Until today. Today I took my polygraph test. And out of the 10 questions that mattered, including "have you ever committed a serious or undetected crime?" and "have you ever stolen anything over $200?" the ones I failed were "other than Marijuana have you ever used any illegal drugs?" and "Have you ever bought or sold any illegal drugs?"
Now, some background on me. I used to work for a drug counseling center. I tried marijuana maybe 4 times tops when I was 14 years old! After that, nothing. I have not seen most drugs except on TV and in books. I work for a government agency and have taken random drug tests frequently. I don't even take tylenol when I have a headache because I'm an all natural kind of girl and don't like drugs legal or otherwise. I have a bottle of cough syrup with codeine thats still full from my last flu, because I only took 2 teaspoons. I was prescribed Vicodin for my wisdom teeth 2 years ago and did not TAKE ONE PILL. I ended up throwing away 20 tablets.
But, according to this test, which the examiner ran 3 times, my most significant responses were to those two questions, have I ever used illegal drugs besides marijuana and have I ever bought or sold illegal drugs.
Out of all the questions asked, I felt the most confident about those, because I have never done drugs. And those are the only ones that showed a reaction.
I called my recruiter after the test to tell her, and she said she would look at the test results and call me back, but that there was probably nothing they could do about it. But she acknowleged that the test is not always reliable.
Great.
So my career is probably dead in the water and theres nothing i can do. I can take a drug test right now using hair testing, going back however long I need to and I will pass. But not according to the polygraph.
And the examiner actually commented on how little I had ever done before the test. But after the test, he obviously thought I was a big drug user.
This is ridiculous.
My advice to anyone...avoid the test if you can help it. There is obviously no rhyme or reason to it and if I can fail it about drug use, anyone can. I've never been so upset and shocked in my life.
You might also want to see if you can make a FOIA request to the agency involved, and see if you can review the results of your background check.
As I've mentioned various times on this Board, it may have been the background investigation that also fouled up your application, as well as the polygraph.
Posted by Lacy
- Oct 29, 2016, 06:27 PMI'm going for police dispatching in the airport in the State of Florida I have to take a polygraph a background check and a drug screening test does anyone know if that happens all at the police department or do they send me to a lab?
Posted by xenonman
- Apr 11, 2016, 12:01 PMQuoteI suspect one day you will find out that not getting into law enforcement was the best thing that ever happened to you.
...and I would extend that advise to include any of the so-called federal "three-letter" agencies!
Posted by xenonman
- Apr 11, 2016, 08:10 AMQuoteI can relate to you folks,i too failed a Polygraph test....it said i stole a ring that i never saw or could of reached for if i had seen it.My arms are to short and the person was standing right behind me watching my every move.......lol
Welcome to the club! Our numbers keep increasing! lol
Posted by xenonman
- Mar 20, 2016, 07:09 AMQuoteI worked at NSA as a polygraph examiner in 1982. There was no such named person...they oftemnused pseudonyms.
Then that's exactly what she must have been doing!
I'm not terribly surprised ! :-?
Posted by The Box Man
- Mar 16, 2016, 03:54 PMI worked at NSA as a polygraph examiner in 1982. There was no such named person...they oftemnused pseudonyms.
Posted by xenonman
- Mar 16, 2016, 06:21 AMActually this examiner was a woman, Nancy Pike, at the NSA, back in '82.
I have no idea how she came up with these accusations, but it was for me the final confirmation of the worthlessness of the polygraph scam.
By "pucker", are you referring to the anal sphincter? I understand that manipulating it is one way of screwing up the polygraph charts!
I have no idea how she came up with these accusations, but it was for me the final confirmation of the worthlessness of the polygraph scam.
By "pucker", are you referring to the anal sphincter? I understand that manipulating it is one way of screwing up the polygraph charts!
Posted by Ex Member
- Mar 15, 2016, 01:53 AMQuote from: xenonman on Mar 14, 2016, 03:59 PMI've been accused by IC polygrapher scum of meeting with foreign intelligence agents and of having homosexual liaisons!Oh my. I bet this fellow had the gain all the way up on his activity sensor so as to not miss a single pucker, joking
But, I'm curious, how was such a thing instilled in his mind?
Posted by xenonman
- Mar 14, 2016, 04:03 PMQuote from: the_fighting_irish on Feb 17, 2016, 02:03 AMOh and John, with all due respect. Taking the polygraph was not a total mistake. Your mistake was taking a polygraph without hiring a LAWYER first. Idiot move on that one.NEVER try to "cooperate" with law enforcement. You'll never be able to "prove" your innocence to those folks. If they "suggest" that you take a polygraph, just tell them to drop dead!
NEVER take a state sponsored test. If you are going to take a test, take it with an examiners that your lawyer directs you toward. If you are back into a corner where a state test is your only option, your lawyers can take steps to hire an independent expert, to make sure all is above board, and done within standards and charts QC'ed.
Your mistake was, believing that you are innocent till proven guilty. Don't blame the polygraph for your poor decision or naiveté.
You were done the minute you opened your mouth and didn't say, "I want a lawyer."
Posted by xenonman
- Mar 14, 2016, 03:59 PMQuoteI can relate to you folks,i too failed a Polygraph test....it said i stole a ring that i never saw or could of reached for if i had seen it.My arms are to short and the person was standing right behind me watching my every move.......lol
Join the club! I've been accused by IC polygrapher scum of meeting with foreign intelligence agents and of having homosexual liaisons!
