“We’re losing a lot of people, including those who have prior military service, who have active security clearances, and they fail a CBP polygraph,” Jon Anfinsen, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, told Fox News this week. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
Anfinsen added that nearly 50 percent fail the polygraph or lie-detector component of the vetting process, putting a strain on the federal agency’s capability to hire new agents.
Although the tests are not admissible in court and have been banned by most private companies to screen employees, they have been mandatory for Border Patrol for the last 10 years.
“They’ll go any other place where they’re not treated like a criminal during that portion of the hiring process,” Anfinsen said. “We’re losing a lot of really great people because of this polygraph portion.”
Polygraph test failures are not a new concern for Border Patrol agents. Two out of three CBP applicants who took a polygraph failed,The Associated Pressreported in 2017. The FBI and Secret Service’s failure rates were about half that, according to the same report.
Nearly 50% of recruits fail the polygraph or lie-detector component, the vice president of the National Border Patrol Council said. “They'll go any other place where they're not treated like a criminal during that portion of the hiring process,” Anfinsen said.
Brandon Judd, president of National Border Patrol Council union, told Just the News that half to two-thirds of applicants continue to fail the lie detector test, and it is crippling the Customers and Border Protection (CBP) agency's ability to keep staffed with the ongoing border crisis.
The exact failure rate for CBP polygraph is not publicly available, as the agency does not release specific statistics. However, according to some estimates and anecdotal reports, the failure rate can range from 10% to 50%, depending on the position and the individual's background and performance.
Regarding law enforcement, a failed polygraph test can lead to your disqualification from the application process or even the loss of your current job. This is because agencies view the ability to pass a test as a crucial indicator of honesty and integrity.
That's right - your math is correct - about 1/4 or 25% of applicants are eliminated who shouldn't be. How does it happen? It happens because those applicants are unaware of what items in their background would actually be harmful to their chances of police employment.
The appeal process for being found unsuitable for hire by CBP due to failing a polygraph test can be complex and require legal representation. The individual should first request a copy of their polygraph examination and review it with a qualified examiner.
The final results of the polygraph examination will be utilized as part of the overall agency adjudication process for placement in a CBP law enforcement position. Polygraph examination results are valid for a two-year period. Applicants are eligible to take the polygraph again after that time period.
CBP data show a 50 percent Border Patrol candidate failure rate on the written test, 15 percent failure in an oral interview, 25 percent medical failure test, 15 percent failure on the physical fitness test, and 56 percent failure on the background check, according to a report from the American Immigration Council.
Many honest people show greater physical reactions to questions that are personally meaningful, even if they are answering truthfully. This will wrongly make them look deceptive on a polygraph test. These flaws could mean polygraphs frequently flag truthful people as deceptive (false positives).
Falsification or minimization in your requested information. Arrests for anything other than minor traffic violations. Commission of a crime which has not been detected. Concealment of anything in your background that would affect your chances for this position.
In essence, it is within the realms of possibility to pass a lie detector test when you are lying but it's very unlikely – the best advice is not to rely on so called strategies and techniques you have learned from the internet or a helpful mate but to just not take the test if you intend to lie.
Except for this information sharing with federal agencies based on reciprocity directives or with DHS personnel security units, CBP does not, generally, share information from a background investigation and/or polygraph exam.
The Border Patrol believes that individuals who marginally fail either the language or reasoning sections of the test can still pass the Academy and succeed as a Border Patrol agent. According to INS Human Resources personnel, the change has resulted in an increased average passing rate of 38-40 percent.
To preclude the possibility of falsely smearing those individuals' careers, all 930 are retested. This time 844 (90.7%) of them pass the test and 86 (9.3%) fail it. The prior likelihood that an individual would fail either of two tests is p = . 093 + .
To the best of our knowledge, there is no written directive mandating the revocation of one's security clearance upon failing a full scope polygraph. But in practice, it may indeed happen.
You may be disqualified if your background includes:
Use of illegal drugs and/or the sale distribution of illegal drugs. Convictions, including misdemeanor domestic violence charges. International harboring or concealment of undocumented noncitizens.
Introduction: My name is Domingo Moore, I am a attractive, gorgeous, funny, jolly, spotless, nice, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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