Didn't believe the hype until today, failed the polygraph

[Aunty Agony]

But 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.

[carla]

I'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 :-/

[Aunty Agony]

I'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.