I am currently filling in an application for Edmonton Police in Canada. Part of this process is a polygraph (lie detector) test based on written questions that are on the original application.
In light of this, when asked questions such as
"have you ever stole......this includes from parents, stationary from work etc"
what are people's responses??
Obviously as a Policeofficer I would normally not have a problem answering this question, but having said that, if we're all honest I would say that most people would probably have taken £1 out of their parents purse or some paper from work at some stage in their lives. Be it as a child or otherwise.
How far back should we go in answering these questions in lieu of the polygraph??
I wouldn't want to get caught out as a "liar" if I said no to the above. But technically when aged 10 or so I once stole some sweets. Help lol

My OH has been through this and his advice (as with many others) fess up to everything however small. If you hold it back it will show up at the polygraph. They are looking for big issue especially while you have been a serving police officer. OH came up with a couple of things, ie - borrowed a sledge hammer from work (not police) and totally forgot and it never went back, they are not concerned with this. He also confessed to nicking sweets as a dare - who hasn't. You'll be fine. If you want to speak to OH then PM and I'll give you his number. HTH Ali

My understanding is that with polygraphs your answers have to be either YES or NO. The intent is not to uncover some prior malfeasance but to determine if you are an honest person otherwise they would be asking questions related to murder, sexual attacks and paedophilia and countless other criminal acts not involving theft. The qualification process will include a number of other tests and interviews when I'm sure you'll be able to elaborate on your polygraph results if necessary.

You get 100 questions from the polygrapher before the actual test, those questions all include the stealing, drugs, drunk driving etc etc.....AND those questions above are also asked, of course they want to know if you've murdered, assualted someone too - you have to answer them detailed, you have to give specifics of when and where you stole, how much and all that....but everyone has a past and these guys tell you that - whatever you tell them, they have heard worse. Basically look at the personal disclosure form that is attached to your application form and be prepared to elaborate on anything that is asked in there, thats what your poly guy will take you through.

Tell them EVERYTHING you can before the poly, on your application form or when you talk to your file manager, as anything disclosed at the poly stage that wasnt disclosed before hand is frowned upon! Even if it was something as petty as stealing some cash frm your parents purse when you were 10 years old.

When it comes to the actual test, you get 10 questions, and those have to be YES or NO, and what they do is pull 10 questions where they think you may not have disclosed everything in the previous 100.....

So be prepared to be there for a few hours - the older you are, the longer you'll be there as the more history you'll have to go through - you have to go back through your whole life.

See the CPS or police posts under the Profession section, there is a HUGE trail in there of the whole application process.

Good Luck, its a scary process but its always good to say you passed a poly