My Polygraph Experience

[willie0319]

Hello everyone; I am currently employed in law enforcement (sworn), and I am working on applying at another agency that will be a better fit both in work load and financially. I passed a CVSA previously. This was my first ever polygraph. I'll try to keep it brief. I took a polygraph for this agency with state police. The person I had conducting the interview was less than pleasant, but he was still professional nonetheless. He took his job very seriously. That's neither here nor there. I provided honest answers to the best my memory serves during pre test interview. The test was broken into 3 in-test sections. The first one, I was very nervous (I'm a foot tapper being a former drummer). Which he pointed out, and I said I'll sit still. I also answered yes on the directed lie questions during that phase accidentally. We moved on to sections two and three and had no further issues like that. He stated those were fine. We re-did the first section again, and he said my breathing was all over the place and that this section appeared to bother me. I told him directly that "no the questions didn't bother me, except that every question he asked me was a $100,000 question (new job is a little higher pay than that) and that the BP cuff was starting to irritate me." Which it definitely was at this point. He stepped out for a few minutes, and then came back in and concluded that the test was finished. NO post-test interview questioning was conducted. I stuck to my guns on my answers for all questions, and made no further admissions. He said that my agency would contact me to let me know if they would accept my test results or not. Whole ordeal was about 3 hours. Anyone think it's a pass? I'm definitely very nervous because this is my dream LE job and the pay is very acceptable to me. Thanks in advance!

[just joe]

Our collective guesses don't matter. You will know the results soon enough. If you disagree with them, follow the appeals process if you are so inclined.

[NolaT]

Three hours? That’s quite a test.

The old school Polys are much more stressful than cvsa, just getting hooked up is stressful.

Good luck and keep us updated!

[Aidokea]

Hello everyone; I am currently employed in law enforcement (sworn), and I am working on applying at another agency that will be a better fit both in work load and financially. I passed a CVSA previously. This was my first ever polygraph. I'll try to keep it brief. I took a polygraph for this agency with state police. The person I had conducting the interview was less than pleasant, but he was still professional nonetheless. He took his job very seriously. That's neither here nor there. I provided honest answers to the best my memory serves during pre test interview. The test was broken into 3 in-test sections. The first one, I was very nervous (I'm a foot tapper being a former drummer). Which he pointed out, and I said I'll sit still. I also answered yes on the directed lie questions during that phase accidentally. We moved on to sections two and three and had no further issues like that. He stated those were fine. We re-did the first section again, and he said my breathing was all over the place and that this section appeared to bother me. I told him directly that "no the questions didn't bother me, except that every question he asked me was a $100,000 question (new job is a little higher pay than that) and that the BP cuff was starting to irritate me." Which it definitely was at this point. He stepped out for a few minutes, and then came back in and concluded that the test was finished. NO post-test interview questioning was conducted. I stuck to my guns on my answers for all questions, and made no further admissions. He said that my agency would contact me to let me know if they would accept my test results or not. Whole ordeal was about 3 hours. Anyone think it's a pass? I'm definitely very nervous because this is my dream LE job and the pay is very acceptable to me. Thanks in advance!

Do cops in Ohio not use paragraphs?

[willie0319]

Aidokea, never learn't 'em... Lol I originally formatted my post like that, but that's how it ended up getting shared. Not sure what happened.

[Aidokea]

No worries.

[Iowa #1603]

I think a lot of phones reformat the posts. My samsung does that which is why I always use a computer for posting on vBulletin

[Iowa #1603]

Hello everyone; I am currently employed in law enforcement (sworn), and I am working on applying at another agency that will be a better fit both in work load and financially. I passed a CVSA previously. This was my first ever polygraph. I'll try to keep it brief. I took a polygraph for this agency with state police. The person I had conducting the interview was less than pleasant, but he was still professional nonetheless. He took his job very seriously. That's neither here nor there. I provided honest answers to the best my memory serves during pre test interview. The test was broken into 3 in-test sections. The first one, I was very nervous (I'm a foot tapper being a former drummer). Which he pointed out, and I said I'll sit still. I also answered yes on the directed lie questions during that phase accidentally. We moved on to sections two and three and had no further issues like that. He stated those were fine. We re-did the first section again, and he said my breathing was all over the place and that this section appeared to bother me. I told him directly that "no the questions didn't bother me, except that every question he asked me was a $100,000 question (new job is a little higher pay than that) and that the BP cuff was starting to irritate me." Which it definitely was at this point. He stepped out for a few minutes, and then came back in and concluded that the test was finished. NO post-test interview questioning was conducted. I stuck to my guns on my answers for all questions, and made no further admissions. He said that my agency would contact me to let me know if they would accept my test results or not. Whole ordeal was about 3 hours. Anyone think it's a pass? I'm definitely very nervous because this is my dream LE job and the pay is very acceptable to me. Thanks in advance!

Actual polygraphs usually rely HEAVILY on the operator's training and their opinions on the "responses" that are recorded on the graph. One operator can interpret the session one way and the next operator might have a different opinion.

It is also entirely up to agency policy as to how much weight the polygraph gets in the process

Good luck

[clof2001]

It's fake science. You're either lying or you're truthful. The agency either wants you or they don't.

If you were honest about everything at the end of the day it is what it is. Don't lose sleep over it.

[willie0319]

Thank you guys for taking the time to read my post and reply. I love the patrol job I have now, but it's time to make the next big step in my career.

[Aidokea]

Retirement?

[willie0319]

Iowa #1603, I don't think they make a huge emphasis on the polygraph itself. I think I made a good first impression during the interview and am well qualified for it since they will hire people with no police experience and put them through the academy. I at least have experience and don't need to be sent to the academy. So that's a plus for sure

[Aidokea]

Iowa #1603, I don't think they make a huge emphasis on the polygraph itself. I think I made a good first impression during the interview and am well qualified for it since they will hire people with no police experience and put them through the academy. I at least have experience and don't need to be sent to the academy. So that's a plus for sure

I think your perspective is skewed.

It costs WAY less to send someone to an academy, than it does to pay off a lawsuit.

[NolaT]

Agreed,……^^^^

[Bing_Oh]

I think your perspective is skewed.

It costs WAY less to send someone to an academy, than it does to pay off a lawsuit.

I'm not sure why you jumped to "lawsuit waiting to happen" territory with this guy. Nothing seems to indicate that he's a problem child or popping red flags left and right...his experience with the poly is similar to what many of us have had, and we all know the varied opinion of truth verification tests.

Coming from larger agencies on the left coast, I think maybe you don't understand that having academy certification can be a significant hiring factor in some areas and for some agencies. Ohio is VERY BIG on pay-to-play academies. Very few agencies run their own academies in Ohio, the state-run academy has gone through serious cutbacks since Covid, and having academy certification is nearly a requirement for a great many agencies. The OP is correct...depending on the agency, his academy certification does give him a step up on non-certified candidates.

[Aidokea]

I didn't say that he's a lawsuit waiting to happen, I just explained WHY agencies do the poly, and WHY agencies value the poly as a vetting tool.

[NolaT]

As with many other decisions, CYA,……..

[Bing_Oh]

The usefulness of truth verification tests in pre-hire is...questionable. Back when departments were inundated with qualified candidates, it was sometimes used as a backdoor way to "weed out undesirable candidates" without the risk of a lawsuit. Knowing what I know now as a veteran LEO and having dealt with many criminal truth verification tests, I personally would never take them at face value as a qualifier/disqualifier in hiring...they're generally only as good as the administrator and are more an interview tool than a pass/fail test.

All that being said, I was not implying that someone having academy certification and the cost savings associated with that should override good hiring practices. If the candidate isn't qualified, then their holding an academy certification should mean absolutely nothing (I have personally dealt with people with academy certifications that never became LEO's and were later convicted of serious crimes, including the murder of an infant).

[willie0319]

Oh yeah for sure, just like with a LOT of things agencies do. It's a lot about optics with the public and in court. It doesn't matter really what the poly does, other than provide a tool to help obtain admissions. I can definitely see the point you're making. I'm not going to get into my opinions on the stupid thing, but that's at least the reasoning behind it.

[NolaT]

Again,……..CYA driven for Dept liability.

[willie0319]

Figured I'd update you all, I passed the poly

[NolaT]

Congratulations, what’s next, Medical?