Another bad polygraph... What's the deal?

[jonnyquest]

I'm a 9+year veteran LEO, lot's of letters of commendation/recommendation, nothing negative in my file. I'm applying to agencies here in NE Florida.
During a polygraph examination, I was told by the examiner that everytime you stop for a cup of coffee on duty, or to take care of personal business i.e post office, or grab something to eat because no time for a lunch break,(regardless of dept's policy), you are ACTUALLY stealing a patrol car, stealing pay, and stealing gas. Also everytime you walk off with disposable pen, use copier machine paper for personal use is stealing from your employer. Now based on that how much $$ in gas/pay/supplies over the past 10 years have you stolen from your employer??

Had no idea what to say, i'm a dead honest guy so had no idea what to say, i figured $2000?? I stop 2 times a night for a cup of coffee at a gas station so i don't fall asleep at the wheel... I work nights! Now i have to account for all the times over the past 10 years??

The agency that i was processing with didn't hire me because i've stolen $2000 from past employers! I tried explaining that to them but they didn't want to hear it, "we're sorry, try again in 6 months".

ALL BECAUSE I STOPPED OCCASIONALLY FOR A CUP OF COFFEE!!??

[PhilipCal]

Polygraph

Easy for me to say, but chances are you wouldn't want to work for that agency anyway. It's charity to say that question was hypothetical. B.S. would be more accurate. Keep on applying. Good luck.

[Sajahi]

Sounds a bit like my story with LAPD poly. My parents own a candy store, and when I go visit them, I usually take a few candy's and drinks. Im now 21years young. And I dont live with them anymore, and the examiner wanted me to tell him an exact amount of money worth in candy that I have taken in the past 14 years. I couldent figure an amount, so I failed. oh well...

[sparkydavid]

Ohhh my that is a nightmare of a ploy experience! My poly examiner basically asked me "Have you taken gratuities? And I am not talking about free coffee etc."

I passed the poly in flying colors. It just shows how the poly examiner can skew the results to make you look like you are a thief. Dont give up. Like the reply above, I would never want to work for a police agency like that!

[LA_Backgrounds]

That's just bogus. On the PIQ there's a section of questions for laterals asking things like "Have you ever accepted a gratuity?" All candidates answer yes or no because it's one of those Catch-22 questions, but not a major issue. It would be ridiculous to ask someone how much city money was "stolen" in 10 years.

I'm sure the polygrapher who tested you never stopped at the store for a soda or gum, surfed the web, or answered personal email while on duty. Certainly they wouldn't be able to calculate the financial loss to the city as a result. Just sounds silly.

[jonnyquest]

That's just bogus. On the PIQ there's a section of questions for laterals asking things like "Have you ever accepted a gratuity?" All candidates answer yes or no because it's one of those Catch-22 questions, but not a major issue. It would be ridiculous to ask someone how much city money was "stolen" in 10 years.

I'm sure the polygrapher who tested you never stopped at the store for a soda or gum, surfed the web, or answered personal email while on duty. Certainly they wouldn't be able to calculate the financial loss to the city as a result. Just sounds silly.

Infact he's an outside vendor, not associated with the agency i applied to. He's a 30 year veteran retired LEO. His questions were not simple yes/no, but rather "In the past 10 years how much money do you think... How many times in the past 2 years have you driven home after having 2 drinks... Etc."

After, he gave a detailed summery of EVERYTHING said/stated in the polygraph to the agency i applied to.

[Chief Wiggum]

I'm a 9+year veteran LEO, lot's of letters of commendation/recommendation, nothing negative in my file. I'm applying to agencies here in NE Florida.
During a polygraph examination, I was told by the examiner that everytime you stop for a cup of coffee on duty, or to take care of personal business i.e post office, or grab something to eat because no time for a lunch break,(regardless of dept's policy), you are ACTUALLY stealing a patrol car, stealing pay, and stealing gas. Also everytime you walk off with disposable pen, use copier machine paper for personal use is stealing from your employer. Now based on that how much $$ in gas/pay/supplies over the past 10 years have you stolen from your employer??

I think I would fall out of my chair laughing at this question. That's the craziest BS I've heard in a while. You got shafted dude.

[jonnyquest]

That's the craziest BS I've heard in a while. You got shafted dude.

Thanks Chief, that's Florida!

[Chief Wiggum]

The more often I hear stories like this the more I'm thankful we had no poly exam.

[bradzzo]

The more often I hear stories like this the more I'm thankful we had no poly exam.

The more I hear stories like this the more I dread taking the poly. I have nothing to hide, but at the same time, life does some times give you the shaft...

[mbmx13]

I have taken 4 to 5 Polys in my life and passed 4 out of 5.

My first poly, I found out later, the polygrapher didn't know what he was doing. He was a private contractor and I am not sure how he slipped through the cracks.

He told me to take a deep breath in and hold it while he placed the pneumo tubes on. I felt lightheaded and thought I was going to pass out during the interview. I can compare it to those poor people on the V8 commercials that need their V8 to walk straight. The whole interview I felt like I was leaning to my right and that I was going to fall out of the chair. LOL

I told my next polygrapher what the last polygrapher did and he said, "No wonder you failed, that guy obviously did not know what he was doing."

I have passed every Poly since then!

[metallica101987]

thanks for the update. I feel better knowing that others might have had issues but at the same time been through it semi-unharmed

[OurDeepestFear]

For as many pens I have taken from my places of employment, they should lock me up and throw away the key! A company I worked for a few years ago had this chart tacked up next to the punch clock. The chart was a type of gauge that reflected how much money - you as an individual employee - are wasting when you are "not working". I know very few places that don't tie in a little break here and there so you can go to the bathroom, get a beverage, or what not.

Personal usage of company property is theft - because, well - it's not yours! Amazing as it may sound, I cannot recall a time that I had used a copier or printer for personal usage unless I asked first. As small and insignificant things like a piece of paper, toner, or even a pen are concerned, some people regard them as a sacred commodity. Most of the pens I have stole had the company name and number on it. So I just left them somewhere if I had one or more with me. FREE advertising! To come up with a dollar amount? PLEASE! Unless you have some form of OCD and had recorded every item you have taken or used from an employer and then broke them down into prices for each, you could never ever know.

Just keep trying, okay!?

~*M*~

[Rogerthump]

Unfortunate, but your story is not too uncommon.

I had a similar situation but the truth is that no matter what he told me about theft, I know what it is. I don't believe that what he described is stealing. No intent. So in my mind, stealing from an employer involved willfully depriving property ect from the employer with intent. Be it time, pens, money, or other property it is stealing in my book if you intended to deprive.

That whole stealing of time is crap because part of your job (why you are paid) is to be available to take calls. Even when I'm sitting on the crapper I am available. I won't mention how often I have finished reports ect when I was not on the clock. So even if your a realist it's quid pro quo.

I am sorry that you had to go through that based on self aponted Gods of law enforcement. And before anyone get's their panties in a bunch I know not all departments hold polys as the end all be all but some do.

If you search for poly on this site you can see it has been a heated topic for some time.

[Traffic_82]

That has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard! I'm sorry to hear about it, that's horrible.

So their Officers don't stop by the gas stations/coffee shops and chat with business owners while picking up a cup of coffee? Funny because I don't know of ONE supervisor that doesn't want his troops visiting with gas station attendants and other businesses in the area (within reason of course).