Failed Poly and other agencies

[LAPD4ME]

i know when i passed it they told me right then and there and wheni had failed it they told me that they needed to review it as well..but that was a few years ago so i'm not sure...hang in there

[razdaz]

Why?

While his opinion is different than yours, at least he is well researched.

[dizza]

If you are reffering to George... the guy gets his jollies off copying and pasting the same story over and over and over. Funny how one guy can be so against Poly's that he lurks in every forum on the net that might have the word "poly" come up on it.

David

[metallicat]

I would have to think that if you tell a police officer doing your polygraph exam that you have talked to a guy that allows people to view measure to defeat a polygraph, you would be DQed. Don't listen to that guy when he comes here, he is dangerous and should actually be banned.

[dizza]

Ahem. I'd agree with that.

David

[lawdawg]

Do you actually believe that the poly can detect lies? Just a yes or no.

If you answer "yes", can you tell me why they don't allow them in a court of law?

Also, can you tell me what information you possess that discounts George's information?

[rdp]

#1. Yes

#2. That is a myth. They can use the poly as an investigative tool and it is admissible in court here. (not sure about other states).

[dizza]

#1 Yes I believe in it to a certain extent.

#2 I have seen them used in court before, so I don't see why they shouldn't use them again.

David

[lawdawg]

From my understanding, the polygraph had no psychic abilities. I was under the impression that it just measured physiological responses created by your body to different stresses.

The only reason I can see for the use of the polygraph in pre-employment screening, is its ability to dissuade unacceptable applicants and in scarring out confessions in individuals; but that's not the way its used.

[bushido71]

lawdawg, i tend to agree with your understanding of the polygraph. I had one examiner who admitted that the polygraph was not a lie detector, but measured certain bodily functions. Deciphering whether or not a lie is told comes from interpreting those readings. Most people with any sense of morality have the so-called "fight-or-flight" response to telling a lie, causing blood pressure or breathing deviations. So when someone has a reaction to a certain question, the examiner usually inteprets that as a deception. The problem as I see it is that people have those kinds of reactions for all kinds of reasons...fear, anger, stress, nervousness, etc. The polygraph can only tell that you are reacting, but not why you are reacting.

So that all being said, I think the polygraph is here to stay as a pre-employment tool. It expedites the background process and eliminates up to 50% of the applicant pool in one fell stroke. That takes a lot of burden off the investigators. It's probably worth the $500 bucks a pop it costs to adminster the test.

[rdp]

Remember, our operators are cops. They worked the street, are investigators, and know how to talk to a person and tell if they are lying...........

If the poly shows something is wrong (our's give a percentage of deception as they are computerized) the examiner asks a lil' more.

It is called an investigative tool, not a solution to every problem.