Expert: Dick Rogers - 2/3/2008

Question
Hello and good day,  I have recently applied for a local sheriff department in CA.  This is my first attempt to start my Law Enforcement career.  I have made it through all my testing, Oral board interview, and background investigation.  I only have to pass my polygraph next Tuesday.  I have no problem telling the truth because I have nothing to hide.  However I was told some horror stories of the polygraph.  I was informed that you can be completely honest and it will still come back negative.  Is there any truth to this?  I was also wondering if you might have some info on what type of questions / test it is going to be like?  Any advice you could give would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time and assistance.

Answer
John, the polygraph is nothing to fear.  Generally, the questions deal with specific things that you are familiar with, such as where you live, how old you are and other very innocuous questions.  Somewhere in the mix, they will throw in questions dealing with drug use, crime convictions, etc.  If you haven't been arrested there should be no problem...if you have used drugs a lot will depend on how you handled this in your oral examination.  If you had tried pot as a young teenager and explained this during your oral board exam and it was considered acceptable to the board, you should have no problem answering positively during the polygraph.  When they review a polygraph exam, they are looking for fairly consistent areas of deceit.  For example, if you showed deception on a question dealing with pot, for example, and you were queried about this by the background examiner, you could explain it as a short introduction to pot when you were 14, 15 or so and that you found the whole experience to be a bad one and decided pot or drugs was not for you.  Much depends on how you conduct yourself and how you explain inconsistencies to examiners.  I wish you well.