CBP polygraph program audited
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Recommended changes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s polygraph testing for job candidates are being welcomed by union representatives, yet fail to address other concerns they have with the program.
The recommended changes include the adoption of a formal policy to review and respond to complaints, as well as additional controls to ensure quality control reviews comply with federal standards.
The polygraph program recommendations were part of a U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General audit that was released in July.
Yet, the recommendations alone aren’t likely to reduce the high number of CBP applicants who fail the polygraph test, said El Centro Sector Border Patrol Agent and National Border Patrol Council Local 2554 President Mike Matzke.
Rather than reflect an effective screening of unqualified applicants, the high rate of applicants who fail the polygraph test is viewed as a reflection of the program’s ineffectiveness, Matzke said.
Currently, prospective employees who undergo the polygraph test are often subjected to an excessive amount of questioning that can reach up to nine hours, he said. Polygraph experts who Matzke said he consulted recommend such tests be limited to about an hour.
“At some point a person loses focus, and the test goes downhill,” Matzke said. “There’s good and then there’s great candidates, and we’ve lost a lot of great candidates.”
The DHS OIG audit, titled “Most Complaints about CBP’s Polygraph Program Are Ambiguous or Unfounded,” was conducted to examine whether CBP has effective controls over its polygraph and complaint processes.
The audit acknowledged that between fiscal year 2013 to 2016, only about 28 percent of CBP applicants passed the polygraph test, while about 41 percent failed.
Additionally, about 5 percent of the 33,000 applicants’ test results were deemed “inconclusive,” with another 26 percent disqualified as a result of some pre-test admission about prior criminal behavior, the audit report stated.
The audit also revealed that 87 percent of CBP applicants fail the agency’s preliminary test, preventing their advancement to the polygraph testing.
While it also welcomed the OIG’s recommended changes, the National Treasury Employees Union, which includes CBP officers employed at the nation’s ports of entry, also remained critical of how the polygraph is currently being implemented.
“NTEU does not seek to reduce the standards used by CBP in their hiring process, but we believe there is a problem with how the polygraph is currently administered,” Tony Reardon, NTEU national president, said in an email.
For its part, NTEU is recommending CBP allow immediate polygraph re-testing opportunities for candidates who received a “No Opinion” or “Inconclusive” result, including those with a “No Opinion Counter Measures” finding, Reardon said.
Applicants who fail the polygraph can retake the exam after two years, and if a test is inconclusive, CBP may invite an applicant to retake the exam.
The current polygraph program is viewed by NTEU as a “major impediment” to fulfilling the agency’s staffing goals, Reardon stated.
The nation’s ports of entry need to hire 2,516 additional CBP officers to achieve the staffing target in the agency’s own workload staffing model, the NTEU reported.
“Calexico, too, has vacancies that are hard to fill, despite the agency’s hiring incentives,” Reardon said.
Inadequate staffing levels are also a major concern for the NBPC Local 2554, said Matzke. He estimated the current number of frontline agents to be about 17,000 to 18,000 nationwide, considerably lower than the minimum 21,370 that is mandated by Congress.
The July 26, audit acknowledged CBP continued to have significant delays in hiring law enforcement personnel and that the CBP hiring process took more than 220 days in fiscal year 2015.
The polygraph program audit also cited a pilot program in place that reduced the average time of a polygraph test from 5.1 hours to 4.3 and which also increased the rate of passing exams.
As its title indicated, the audit also determined that 96 percent of the applicants’ complaints were unfounded or ambiguous.
Of the 157 complaints reviewed, 130 (83 percent) were either not specific or did not have enough information to review; 21 (13 percent) were not true based on the allegation; and 6 (4 percent) were true, the audit stated.
The agency has already implemented additional controls to ensure quality control reviews of polygraph tests, as recommended. It was not clear on Monday whether it had already adopted a formal policy to review and respond to complaints.
The Anti-Border Corruption Act of 2010 requires CBP law enforcement applicants undergo a polygraph examination before they are hired.