Failed CBP Polygraph

That’s just foolish . . . It NOT the “final decision”, it’s just one part of a whole. But, you must PASS the poly to get hired just like you have to pass a criminal background check and a financial check.

For those who fail the polygraph, it does amount to the final decision. The applicant’s application is terminated then and there.

Polygraph screening shouldn’t be used at all. It’s scientifically baseless, and it results in honest, well-qualified applicants being blacklisted while unqualified liars can easily fool the polygraph using simple countermeasures that polygraph operators cannot detect.

I believe that I have already addressed your issues . . .

My point is that there was nothing “foolish” about @Paladin’s post to which you replied.

Antipolygraph beat me to it. I think you misunderstood what I was saying. Of course the polygraph isn’t the only thing you must pass, but if you don’t it’s used as a final decision to disqualify you…for CBP.

You are half right, the REASON is not judged necessarily, but if you react, it appears as if ‘you’ are disqualified at that point.

I didn’t “misunderstand” anything . . . You need to pass the poly just like you need to pass everything else. They don’t balance out and nine out of ten isn’t good enough. It is CLEARLY law, support by SCOTUS rulings that a conscience decision is being made to reject qualified candidates instead of approving those who are not qualified. This isn’t a situation like the criminal courts where they “would rather let 100 guilty men go free than to imprison one innocent man.”

Yes you are correct that you have to pass every check in the process from a passing grade on the exam to your medical to your polygraph to your background to your fitness test blah blah blah.
What I meant on the misunderstanding is if you fail the polygraph it is a “final decision” to disqualify you as a candidate that is where the misunderstanding was.

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Whatever . . . There was no misunderstanding. You just made my point, exactly as I did, and then contradicted it. So . . . To address it directly . . . What happens if you fail your physical?

We all have opinions based on our own experiences and interpretations. Let us agree to disagree and move on, we are not here to debate, just offer advice to be used or not used.

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You wrote that @Paladin’s characterization of the polygraph as the “final decision” was “just foolish.” It wasn’t foolish: he has a valid point because for the many honest applicants who fail to pass the polygraph, it is indeed the “final decision.”

CBS 60 Minutes II recognized the finality of a failed polygraph in a 2001 feature report on pre-employment polygraph screening that it appropriately titled, “Final Exam.”

I was just trying to be helpful there was just a communication misunderstanding of what final decision was referring to.

There’s no reason for anyone to be hasty. Honestly the people who will be affected the most are the ones who will fail this polygraph and have failed the polygraph.

I wish anyone the best going for a law enforcement career. I hope you are not reading these posts because you failed a polygraph. But if you did don’t worry it doesn’t mean you will keep failing polygraphs. In fact some agencies don’t even use the polygraph because they feel they recognize the faults in it. Obviously, it’s possible something is going on with the CBP polygraph. Hang in there keep applying CBP isn’t the only show in town.

In federal law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service notably does not have a pre-employment polygraph requirement. Unfortunately, however, failing a polygraph with one federal agency will have adverse employment consequences with all federal agencies, potentially even those without a polygraph requirement.

I have a friend who took the exam and failed twice. He made a complaint to CBP that his examiner smelled like alcohol (fake) and he was allowed to test again. If you fail give this a try. Good Luck!

You are really encouraging someone to make a false complaint about a government agent?

I get that polys aren’t anyone’s favorite thing to do but I can’t imagine this ending well for your buddy

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So, ruin someone’s career by leveling a completely false allegation just so that you can cheat the system and get a second or third chance you wouldn’t otherwise deserve?

I don’t recommend this course of action. Not only is it just plain wrong, it also seems to make their point for them in that you are not right for a cleared position.

Not that you did this of course, just responding to a hypothetical.

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Recommend a person lie…to take a “lie detector” test… for a job requiring integrity I 'm not seeing the logic here unless this is just Anti posting under a different name. Color me in the group of folks who would love to know who interprets their results and what exclusion reasons are with their notoriously high reject rate, but giving advice to tell a lie…is counter productive.

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