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Police recruits: prepare to face a lie detector test
| Saturday, Jun 28 2008 12:00 PM
Last Updated: Friday, Jun 20 2008 2:16 PM
In an effort to hire the best officers available, Bakersfield Police Department will begin putting applicants to the test - a polygraph test.
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Department officials said they will begin using the test as part of a background process on potential employees.
A large percentage of other California agencies already use the tool as a way to test the truthfulness of a potential employee.
“We just want to make sure we're getting the best,” said Capt. Bob Bivens of Bakersfield Police.
LOOKING FOR DECEPTION
Police expect to start giving the tests in early 2009 when new officers are sought. The department currently has 373 sworn officers.
A potential employee will fill out an application and a standard questionnaire first. The polygraph tester will ask questions based on those. They will look at anything that could mean deception.
A polygraph collects physiological data from several parts of the body, according to the American Polygraph Association. Tools record sweat, breathing and cardiovascular activity.
The test will be part of an already lengthy application process that includes a six-month academy, written test, oral test, complete background investigation and a captain's interview. It could take up to a year for an applicant to put on a uniform.
The test, officials said, will prevent candidates with “shady backgrounds,” who might have seen the department as a target for not having the polygraph before, from applying, Bivens said.
The department will hire an outside source to conduct the tests. It could cost from $200 to $400 to do the tests depending on the company hired to administer them.
NOT ALONE
Most agencies statewide already use a form of “lie detection” in the background process.
The Kern County Sheriff's Department has six to eight deputies investigating the backgrounds of would-be deputies and detention officers, Lt. Ed Komin said. Two conduct the polygraph.
Each applicant goes through the polygraph. The administrator asks questions to test whether or not the applicant has lied in an application, but also asks about background and history.
The department even wants to know whether the applicant has ever stolen a candy bar, Komin said, or any other crimes committed since birth.
The California Highway Patrol here doesn't use the polygraph, officer Greg Williams said. Instead they use Voice Stress Analysis, which is lie-detection technology that is newer than the polygraph, but also controversial.
It records stress responses in the human voice. Its accuracy remains debated by polygraph officials and also by some law enforcement agencies.
For that reason, the Sheriff's department here does not use it, Komin said. The Bakersfield police have not looked into its use, officials said.
UNCOVERING DISHONESTY
The polygraph tests will be used to give investigators an idea of the truthfulness of a candidate. Results alone will not be used to disqualify candidates, Bivens said.
As an example, last year Sheriff's detentions deputy applicant Thomas Grijalva was removed from the list of eligible applicants, according to county Civil Service Commission minutes.
In his application, Grijalva indicated he had not committed any type of indecent exposure or theft. However, during his polygraph he admitted to committing both. It was determined Grijalva has a record listing five incidents of indecent exposure as well as theft and a driving under the influence charge.
Based on that, the department determined he would not be a good candidate.
“You don't fail a polygraph. It's an investigative tool we use to reveal things in backgrounds where they weren't being honest,” Bivens said. “It just uncovers things.”