By Steve Neavling
The DEA hired dozens of special agents who failed a polygraph exam during the hiring process, according to a new federal watchdog report.
The report by the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General identified 77 applicants – 66 of whom were prospective special agents and 11 of whom were intelligence research specialists – who were hired despite producing questionable lie detector results, The Los Angeles Times first reported.
One whistleblower told authorities that the agency ignored admissions of criminal behavior that should have warranted further investigation. One of those job applicants “admitted to pedophiliac tendencies toward his own daughter and other children” during the polygraph test.
In another case, according to the report, a DEA job applicant who was administered a polygraph test in December 2017 “admitted to engaging in inappropriate behavior while a juvenile with a younger juvenile.” Instead of proceeding with the exam, the examiner stopped the test, and “the DEA’s hiring panel was told, incorrectly, that the applicant passed the polygraph examination.” That applicant is now a special agent.
Despite a policy enacted in 2019 that forbids the DEA from hiring applicants who fail a lie detector test or show signs of “countermeasures” to cheat the exam, the Office of the Inspector General said the agency exploited loopholes to avoid complying with the new policy and hired 77 people who produced questionable lie detector results.
According to the report, an additional 43 people whose exam produced red flags were hired before the new policy went into effect.
A DEA spokesperson told The LA Times that the agency “continues to implement best practices in hiring to ensure that all DEA employees uphold the values of our organization, exemplify integrity, and — above all — protect the safety and health of all Americans.”
“Over the past two years, DEA has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to ensuring that all DEA employees are held to the highest standards,” the spokesperson said. “DEA has undergone complete leadership change in the highest positions, updated our hiring policies, and heightened our disciplinary standards.”
