National Survey of Practices, Policies and Evaluative Comments on the Use of Pre-Employment Polygraph Screening in Police Agencies in the United States

• NCJ Number: 156854
• Journal: Polygraph Volume: 24 Issue: 2 Dated: (1995) Pages: 57-136
• Author(s): R Meesig; F Horvath
• Date Published: 1995
• Length: 80 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Survey
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The extent and nature of police agencies' use of pre- employment polygraph screening (PEPS) was examined by means of a questionnaire survey of 699 of the largest general- purpose police agencies and a random sample of 2,192 of the country's almost 16,000 small police agencies.

Abstract

Responses came from 90 percent of the large agencies and 67 percent of the small agencies. Results revealed that 62 percent of the large agencies and 13 percent of the small agencies currently use PEPS, while 7 percent of the large agencies and 4 percent of the small agencies are former users. PEPS is not used as a substitute for other techniques; agencies using it use more rather than fewer screening techniques than do those not using PEPS. Prohibitive legislation caused large agencies to discontinue PEPS; lack of confidence was the main reason cited by small agencies for discontinuing its use. Twenty-one percent of the large nonusers and 25 percent of the small nonusers said that they would consider the use of PEPS. Findings are consistent with those of earlier research and continue to validate its benefits as more and more agencies include it in their selection protocol. Tables, figures, and 62 references