The criterion for deception was an admission by applicants that they knowingly lied or provided false information in completing the application or background questionnaire so as to appear more favorable or because they thought the information would "look bad." Areas of deception included both minor shortcomings and more significant problems that were typically related to job history, school history, and drug use. Participants were 36 applicants for positions of police officer or deputy sheriff. Because of the relatively small number of subjects in the study, the scope of investigation was limited to seven scales: the L, K, Mp, O-S total, F-K Index, and Es-K Index from the MMPI and the GD scale from the IPI. A separate analysis of variance was run for each of the seven variables. Significant differences were found on the traditional validity (minimization) scales for both instruments, as well as several supplemental scales and indexes from the MMPI. A new index (Es-K) from the MMPI showed a highly significant difference between groups and good classification accuracy. The results suggest that deceptive applicants show more defensiveness on psychometric testing and that test results may assist in raising the index of suspicion for detecting deception in law enforcement applicants. By combining multiple psychological tests with multiple sources of collateral information and a structured clinical interview, the probability of identifying a deceptive or dishonest applicant increases. 2 tables and 35 references