Posted: 7/22/2006 10:24:16 AM EDT
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So part of being in an Asian family is the whole "do what your parents want you to do" thing. Which of course is to not be a police officer. But, I have always wanted to be a cop and have decided to say screw it and am applying to 2 PDs. So how confident where you when you applied? I have no criminal history and never done drugs. The thing that scares me is the polygraph test. I have nothing to hide, but I don't like the idea that a machine is attached to me and tells people what kind of person I am. I have a hard time believing that these things are accurate. Also, it can really mess with my mind. For instance, if the question is "Have you ever commited a misdemeanor?", the answer is no I haven't ever been caught, but I have sped/ran a stop sign/ran a red light before. So what is the "right" answer? Testing is August 17 for one and August 28 for the other. Then background invstigation for 2 or 3 months. *fingers crossed* |
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Best answer is the honest one. We are not looking for angels, we are looking for honest officers. "Have you ever commited a misdemeanor?" - If the answer is yes, answer yes and explain. "the answer is no I haven't ever been caught" - that is not the question. Commited is not prosecuted, cited or caught. See above. The minute you are deceptive or lie, you are done. Be honest and good luck in your application process. NorCal |
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Nor Cal is right, simply tell the truth. On the Poly or VSA, they will discuss all this BEFORE the test. When the test starts they will ask questions that start with something like "Other than what you have alreay disclosed... have you ever_______? or "Besides the __________ that we talked about, have you ever____________? Don't seat it, if your clean, you got it made... good luck. |
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Just remember it's all hocuspocus. It's like fairy dust, yah gotta believe in the shit for it to work. All though I had nothing to hide, the 1st time I polyed the test said I had "reactions" to a few questions. One of them was "Have you ever been arrested for a felony?" Well if I had, it would have been on my arrest record.  I guess I was so nervous I had thrown it off. The polygrapher realized this and passed me.I have since learned a little more about truth verification devices and have since then taken a VSA which I had no problems with what so ever. All I can say is be absolutley truthful. You have to clear your mind of any question or doubt so that youll be relaxed during the test. The 1st time I polyed I was telling the truth but kept questioning myself in my head on wether I was forgetting something or maybe if some minor incident qualified as such. I psyched myself into false positives. With the VSA test I spilled my guts about everything. Remember that interigation scene in the movie "Goonies" where the fat kid was telling them shit that was irrelavant? That was me.  I told the guy shit he said were so trivial that it didn't matter. But it cleared my concious enough to pass.
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Traffic infraction
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Depends on your state laws. Here in Maine laws are divided into 5 classes, A, B, C, D, and E. Class D and E crimes are misdemeanors, and Class A, B, & Cs are felonies. I believe failure to stop for a stop sign would ding you $137 on the ticket. Not a criminal offense unless it becomes something close to driving to endanger. |