CVSA

[TheForceCHP]

Well i took my CVSA on wend...

i was just about to write a whole bunch of little things, but i don't know how much is too much info. so for now i won't say very much. hopefully a mod. will be able to answer this question with more info. if that is ok

what i have to say is the obvious, don't lie! I had no reason to lie so i was ok on that, but i was still nervous! i have to say that the person who administered my CVSA did a great job of talking to me and making me feel calm. In the end it was not that big of a deal

[Lev3]

Hi, I'm a newbie here on CHPFourms and currently in the background process. Just wanted to know if anyone has ever failed the CVSA or had any problems with it. Thanks

[CHP 44]

Interesting story last night...Anyone see it???

http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/

[Fire1]

Interesting..... Glad I already took mine and don't have to worry about it:neutral:

[Processing]

fascinating!!! from now on, i would like to be known as DR. PROCESSING. and just for kicks, i'll say i got my PhD in criminal justice for the hours i have spent reading through chp websites. sounds like its just about the same logic as the guy in the news story has!

[Dipmo]

fascinating!!! from now on, i would like to be known as DR. PROCESSING. and just for kicks, i'll say i got my PhD in criminal justice for the hours i have spent reading through chp websites. sounds like its just about the same logic as the guy in the news story has!

I'm not sure why, but I have the scene from Spies Like Us stuck in my head now (Dr., Dr.,Dr.,Dr.,Dr.,Dr.) :biggrin:

I'm with the good DR. Processing here, I shall be known as DR. Dipmo from now on. If you knew what Dipmo was a contraction of you might find that funnier. With the Apostrophe in place it would be dip' mo' (or Dipsh** Moron).

[pupdog]

Dr. Pupdog here. Yeah, reading about Humble's lack of qualifications is a bit unsettling.
Took my CVSA a few days ago. It was fun! I kept telling the truth on one of the control questions. Oops!

[SuperTrooper]

"Dr." Humble is clearly a fraud, and the CVSA is nothing more than a $10,000 paperweight.

[pupdog]

Like I said before, it might not be perfect, but it's what science & technology currently offers. I wouldn't want to work for a department that failed to make every effort possible to weed out dishonest applicants. Failing to do so puts everybodys safety & integrity on the line.

[SuperTrooper]

but it's what science & technology currently offers

What science? There's zero scientific evidence to back the CVSA with no independent studies done. The only thing it's good for is intimidating applicants/suspects into telling the possible truth, and maybe playing solitaire. It's all mind games. That's why CVSA and polygraph results are never admissible in court because they're unreliable and not a proven science.

[Welpe]

While that is true SuperTrooper, from an applicant's standpoint there's not too much we can do about it other than go through the process being completely truthful and hope for the best!

[bcjack]

The merits of polygraph and CVSA may be questionable in the mind of some, but the bottom line is....

1. Take the test...MAYBE get the job...
2. Don't take the test...GUARANTEED NOT to get the job...

Until the CHP, State Personnel Board, or a Court of Law decides otherwise...It IS part of the test and if you want the job, you must pass it.

[AceRock]

Does anyone know what the big differences are between polygraph and CVSA? Most of the people I know that are in law enforcement took the polygraph and cant tell me anything about the CVSA. One of my good friends took a polygraph for Ventura County Sheriff and said it was going off on all sorts of things. He still got the job!

[TheForceCHP]

CVSA is SUPER simple. just a mic. and that is it. as far as i know mine didn't "go off" on anything, but then again i told the truth(not trying to say that your friend didn't)

[cal911gal]

I did a paper last term comparing CVSA vs polygraph. If you wish to read it, please PM me and I will email it.

Unless the mods would prefer I just attach it......then I will (can we even do that?)

It's about 6 pages, and IMHO, pretty informative.....


EDIT by dw: File is attached, please keep in mind this is for informational purposes only and contact the author for permission to quote anything.

[cadetspouse]

Hi, I'm a newbie here on CHPFourms and currently in the background process. Just wanted to know if anyone has ever failed the CVSA or had any problems with it. Thanks

Some applicants do "fail" the CVSA and are therefore not recommended to move forward in the hiring process. It would be advisable to keep in mind that it is not just the "controversial" computer technology that is tracking responses but also the live operator (usually an Officer from a Recruiting Division) is similarly observing body language, composure, veracity, ease of answering, cooperation, etc.

Just like many members advise on this message board......if you are honest throughout the entire hiring process and you have what it takes to be hired as a Cadet, then eventually you will get to the Academy, whether it takes one year or three.

Good luck!

[junebughunter]

When I heard there was a lie detector test (at the time I didn't know it was a CVSA) I searched google for "polygraph" just to find out information on it. The first result was a website (not sure if it is ok to link to) that basically said the CVSA is an "intimdation tool". I browsed their forums and read some excerpts from the book on this website about how it is fake. But I eventually realized, it seemed like the forums were full of people with one of three issues

1. People trying to figure out how to lie and pass a lie detector.
2. People angry that they failed a lie detector but stated they did not lie
3. People warning you about how you can get a false-negative and it's nothing more than a tool to scare you into telling the truth

Reading what people had to say scared me about it a little but I've come to the conclusion that firstly I'm going to be honest and try my best to stay calm while taking it and I am confident I won't have a problem.

It seems people think of lie detectors as a either a big mystery or a completely unscientific device but I believe it's really just a simple instrument.

All the CVSA can do is anaylyze your voice compared to controlled questions that they assume you are telling the truth about. I'm sure that is a dumbed down explanation for what it does but that's my understanding of it.

As a musician and a recording and live sound engineer I'd actually be quite interested to know what it is that it analyzes. I'd imagine it does things like anaylyze volume, attack until peak volume of pronunciation, decay of your answer and time length between question and answer. I'd imagine those are the only things you could anaylyze to determine truth or not, in which case you can easily train yourself to make all your answers look like truths.

Now, as a software engineer I wonder why in the world these machines cost so much? Those are all basic audio analyzations and I have a feeling there is probably one company with a monopoly on the CVSA industry. I could probably developer software that accomplished such in a matter of a few months. Slap a pretty interface on it and sell it, but I digress...

What was this thread about again? :confused::

[snowdog]

Not true cadetspouse. Probably an honest mistake but I believe its important that accurate information be posted to assist applicants.

[SuperTrooper]

Hey, if I drop out of USC and transfer to bible study "school" and get my Doctorate, will the CHP still honor their 5% monthly salary raise? :lol:

[Cameron]

haha. Trooper, what are you studying at USC?

[cadetspouse]

Not true cadetspouse. Probably an honest mistake but I believe its important that accurate information be posted to assist applicants.

Hi snowdog,

I am not sure what I got wrong. But we know one person who "failed" the CVSA and because of his "performance" his BI did not proceed with completing his Background Investigation. This occurred last year in 2005. We also know at least four other people who did the CVSA and discussed it with us. What information did I get wrong - my intention is not to post incorrect information. Can you tell me what information I posted that was inaccurate? I hope to always give the best information possible from our own personal experiences and our friends' experiences with the hiring process. Thanks.

[snowdog]

Not true cadetspouse. Probably an honest mistake but I believe its important that accurate information be posted to assist applicants.

Hi snowdog,

I am not sure what I got wrong. But we know one person who "failed" the CVSA and because of his "performance" his BI did not proceed with completing his Background Investigation. This occurred last year in 2005. We also know at least four other people who did the CVSA and discussed it with us. What information did I get wrong - my intention is not to post incorrect information. Can you tell me what information I posted that was inaccurate? I hope to always give the best information possible from our own personal experiences and our friends' experiences with the hiring process. Thanks.

Just for clarification, an applicant cannot "fail" a CVSA. The CVSA administrator may learn something during the CVSA, usually something that was not previously disclosed, that leads to a disqualification. Or, they get clarification on something that was disclosed but get more details that shed a different light on the circumstances. That has been my experience many times in the past both as an examiner and background investigator. I just didn't want anyone to get the impression that they may go into their CVSA and the administrator could tell them "I detected deception in your charts, therefore you are disqualified". During the CVSA, one of the tasks for the examiner is to get the applicant to feel as comfortable as possible. Iif the applicant feels the examiner has the authority to disqualify them based on the results they have a difficult time relaxing and answering questions. There are some exceptions where the examiner is also the assigned background investiagtor but this is not typical. My advice, relax, be prepared to discuss many issues (some very personal which haven't been peviously discussed) and answer honestly. One more thing, don't try to beat the exam by fudging on your responses. The examiner is the real truth detector. We all have a great deal of experience in doing that.
Just two more cents from me cadetspouse, I thought your weekly updates were great. You're smart enough to know what not to post. I was at a training class all this week at the Academy and according to one junior cadet, they lost three more this past week for a total of 17 gone. That leaves the class at 58. I don't know if that was completely accurate, or if the cadet was no math genius, but we all noticed that the parking lot looked unusually empty.
Walked out of the cafeteria after lunch on Wednesday and the "Fountain Ceremony" was just begining. Out of respect, I refused to walk through the quad during the ceremony. Made me late for class, but no complaint was voiced by my instructors or classmates. It's a touching ceremony every time I see it. Makes it even more touching knowing at least a dozen names on the fountain.

[cadetspouse]

Just for clarification, an applicant cannot "fail" a CVSA. The CVSA administrator may learn something during the CVSA, usually something that was not previously disclosed, that leads to a disqualification. Or, they get clarification on something that was disclosed but get more details that shed a different light on the circumstances. That has been my experience many times in the past both as an examiner and background investigator. I just didn't want anyone to get the impression that they may go into their CVSA and the administrator could tell them "I detected deception in your charts, therefore you are disqualified".

Thanks snowdog,

I guess using the word "fail" is a misstatement of sorts. About the 56 Cadets left or 58 - my spouse was told there are only 56 left, and most left from one company and only a few from the other company. I guess it is not always clear to all the Cadets how many are exactly left. Also, I always try to keep my updates very general because I don't want to give away information that should be left for when people get to the Academy and go through it themselves. It almost seems pointless, really, for me to do the updates anymore. What applicant really benefits from knowing how many Cadets quit or are remaining...and since I can't post the "meat" of the Academy experience...maybe I should just stop posting updates?! I probably will stop because in the coming weeks and months I have my own work assignments that will be taking up an exorbidant amount of my time. Thanks again for the clarification, Officer!

[BoySergeant]

When I heard there was a lie detector test (at the time I didn't know it was a CVSA) I searched google for "polygraph" just to find out information on it. The first result was a website (not sure if it is ok to link to) that basically said the CVSA is an "intimdation tool".

dw will probably get mad at me... but I'd say you hit the nail on the head.