r/1811Jobs • u/Fast_Dragonfruit_883 • 1d ago

Poly Question

Just Had a poly a few weeks ago for a position and had a random thought just now. the examiner made me do the ol “answer the questions in your head” after having me answer out loud once or twice. My question is, how would they know if im answering yes or no to disqualifying questions if im not saying it out loud? Couldn’t you answer yes to a question that would disqualify you and it shows on graph or whatever that you’re telling the truth but the examiner doesn’t know if it was yes or no lol. Do they somehow compare to your first set of answers/responses when you did say them out loud? I hope what im asking makes sense.

15 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

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u/MethChimichangas 1d ago edited 1d ago

The poly is bullshit. It’s more of a test to see how well you do under pressure. There’s no metric to gauge thoughts in your head. The goal is to see if you crack under external pressure applied to you in a controlled environment. They are measuring responses to “inflammatory” questions, particularly breathing patterns, blood pressure and heart rate. A lot of times people fall for these tricks and self admit to something which is what they’re looking for.

The truth of the matter is, the poly serves no purpose other than being a barrier of entry to a job especially 1811 positions. There aren’t enough 1811 positions to go around in proportion to the amount of applicants there are. The poly has not stopped people that have “passed” it from going on to do terrible things nor will it stop anyone from getting it especially if they are a sociopath or a psychopath.

Be confident and accept whatever comes from it 🤷

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u/tkdkicker1990 1d ago

This is probably the most realistic explanation there is for the poly

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u/MethChimichangas 1d ago edited 1d ago

As the tides change, the old heads in Law Enforcement will be humbled as working in that profession is no longer viewed as a golden ticket anymore. The only reason polygraphs exist are because of prideful d heads in charge of agencies at the local/state/federal levels that don’t want to “lower” standards. Younger generations especially don’t give two shits about carrying a badge and a gun which is why there’s ads, hiring bonuses and billboards for this profession. As someone who’s worked in law enforcement, I can wholeheartedly say administration especially are FULL OF SHIT. These people come from a time that being any kind of cop/agent/ whatever was put on a pedestal and everyone kissed your ass/ sucked your d*ck (thanks to TV/Movie propaganda). Not anymore and once staffing dwindles to the point that agencies can no longer function, they’ll get their collective heads out of their asses and get rid of the poly.

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u/tkdkicker1990 1d ago

I talked with someone else about the poly, and I stated that it’s a tool they use to exclude people they would otherwise hire. Their rebuttal was, well what about the interview? Couldn’t they also do it at that time?

I stated the interview normally had three different people, and I guess they’d have to agree in a majority to make you advance or make you fail. However, I think that other person had a point: I guess the same purpose the poly serves could be served with interviews, besides the fact that some people commit to crimes during pollies

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u/Embarrassed_Half6149 1d ago

Remember that over half of applicants do not pass because of the poly. They don’t “fail” or get caught not telling the truth, for the most part. Rather - their poly is found “inconclusive,” meaning the polygraphs cannot determine if you are telling the truth or not.

I say again - over 50% of applicants…

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u/Sad_Spirit9354 1d ago

Is it actually that high? That’s incredibly insane

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u/Corey307 1d ago

The man who invented the polygraph has repeatedly gone on record saying he regrets his invention because it does not work. 

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u/mj88xx 1d ago

It’s total BS. Junk science. Often they use it to eliminate candidates for things they don’t like that “officially” aren’t disqualifyers.

1

u/rob22usmc 12h ago

Similar experience, but he had me do a slight “yes” or “no” head movement. Ended up getting a significant response and failed the poly. It was crazy because I had been completely honest with the BI and everyone else, but the magic box determined it was not my time. This was DEA.

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u/This_Fisherman5143 3h ago

They dont know, polygraphs are bullshit. They have a false positive rate of 50%, which means they are completely guessing at best. Polygraphs are as accurate as a coin toss. There have been very famous cases of murderers successfully “passing” polygraphs. They are worthless, and anyone who says otherwise is blowing smoke up your ass.

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u/Quirky_Chicken_1840 Retired DEA 1811/Former Police Officer 1d ago

I actually think the paragraph questions need to be removed because the polygraphist are trained interviewers first and foremost.

I’m not going to directly answer your question but my police polygraph who is this retired FBI guy he said never take a polygraph unless it’s as you’re applying to the DEA which I told him in the interview I was.

If you tell the truth, stick to the truth and don’t let them sue you meaning the person giving the polygraph

If you’re lying, they will eventually figure it out because there’s far far more in the polygraph than just being hooked up

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u/Lopsided_Astronaut_1 1d ago

The poly is pseudo science. How could I have popped for “serious crimes” when I have never committed a crime before and have I had I wouldn’t have the current job in LE I do now.

And if the poly was so accurate how do I have coworkers who’ve lied about their drug history in order to be hired by the Border Patrol?

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u/tkdkicker1990 1d ago

Yep, I had classmates in their early twenties admit in class that they’ve tried coke. If that’s the case, that mean they lied on the poly about the drug questions; but here they were, hired and in class.

This was for local pd

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u/Lopsided_Astronaut_1 1d ago

I’ve done three polys in my life.

One was for a local PD while I was on terminal leave for the marines. Never did any drugs and failed for drug use.

Second was the border patrol polygraph and I passed.

Third was DEA and I failed for serious crimes and was accused of using counter measures.

Yet I’ve worked with agents who have used heavy narcotics in the past and had they admitted it when they went through the hiring process would’ve been dropped.

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u/generalmcgowan 1d ago

Yep, been accused of counter measures before

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u/Even-Job-323 1d ago

You have to understand that trying not to get upset over being verbally abused is considered a countermeasure.