Careers: Police/Polygraph resuts

Advertisement

Expert: - 4/16/2009


Question
Sir,
I had couple questions for you if I may. First thank you for taking time to answer my questions. I am in the  background process with a Sherriff Dept in Ca and recently took the polygraph test. Before the examination we went over my form that I had filled out and he touch on the marijuana use and how I came up with the number. My calculation was based on day usage and he advised me that I should be counting times used in one day. My previous statement was 50 total use. After recalculating by his standards I changed it to 70. In the examination this question "triped me up". In the post interview with him he addressed that and asked me to recount with him to try to clarify this "trip up". He mentioned to me if I was confortable to say less than 80 times used and I said yes. I had to write a statement stating that my usage was less than 80. Does this mean I will be disqualified because I uped my usage and then still "triped me up"? Second question, i read that if you are asked to write a statement after that this is not good and you should not do it? I did not read this untill i came home. The last  is, my investigator called me and said my file was going into reveiw due to the increased usage and a part time job 14 yrs ago that i left out of my application. Based on your experience will I get a letter in the mail that I am disqualifed and how long does it take to have your file reviewed? Sorry for the long question but I felt confident prior to my poly that I would do good and that I had disclosed everything.

Answer
Hey Eddie,

You have encountered the typical Poly problem.

I cannot tell you if you will be DQ'd for the usage question, that depends on the departments standards they set. It also depends on the amount of usage they allow. The good thing is think of it this way, if they said you were being reviewed, thats better than them calling you and saying you were dq'd right then. If you were out why would they not have told you then? I would say you stand a fair chance of being OK.

There is nothing you can do about it now anyway, so try not to worry to much and let whatever they decide, you move on and do not let it deter you. If you are OK then move on with the application process, if not, try somewhere else.

Worrying about it will not change whatever the outcome is. Your OK and thats what you concentrate on. You were honest and you should get points for that.  

Careers: Police

All Answers

Answers by Expert:

Ask Experts

Volunteer

Chris Wagoner

Expertise

I have been a police officer for 30+ years! I am the Police Academy Commander at the Santa Fe College, Institute of Public Safety in Gainesville Florida It is a full service Law Enforcement and Corrections training facility. I can answer most questions concerning law enforcement procedures, law enforcement training and general questions about law enforcment. I can also answer questions about becoming a law enfocement officer. I have a booklet and web page I have written that answers many questions about how to become a police officer called "So you want to be a cop (police Officer) in Florida?", which is free, Google it.. All you have to do is ask. I teach the following subjects: RADAR/LASER, Law Enforcement Driving, Law Enforcement Firearms and Patrol Techniques, Officer Safety, WMD's for Patrol Officers, Application of Law, Communications skills, Dealing with the Mentally and physically handicapped, and many more subjects. I have worked as a subject matter expert for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and helped to write the police curriculum for the State of Florida. I like answering questions about how to become a police officer, and questions about why did an officer do this or that type questions. I also like answering any questions you may have about police work in general. I do not mind helping with homework questions or trying to answer your questions about legal subjects that I have knowledge of. You will never know the answer until you ask! If you do ask a question, PLEASE take the time to at least rate the answer. I do not get paid to answer these questions and do it on my own time. If you ask, please rate it when I answer. Thanks!!! If its a question about becoming a police officer, it may be answered here: http://sites.google.com/site/flaleohelp/ My "hobby" website - http://www.youtube.com/user/3rdID8487 Military Videos on YouTube and Facebook!!

Experience

I am a 30+ year veteran police officer, I am currently the Police Academy Commander of an Academy in North FLorida. I have been training police officers since 1993 and have trained them in all aspects of law enforcement, including firearms, Driving and legal subjects including patrol techniques and others and training all over the world. I have trained over 5000 officers worldwide in the last 16 years of training.

Publications
I am a published author in Accident Investigation from the University of North Florida, Institute of Police Technology and Management. Also have written and published on the Internet, "So You Want to be a Cop (Police Officer) in Florida?" you can Google it..

Education/Credentials
I have 2 degrees, in Criminal Justice.

Awards and Honors
Phi Theta Kappa, plus 50+ Departmental Awards over the years. FBI Directors award for assisting in a Nationwide investigation into Child pornography.

©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.