Policy

Policy 1. The Board requires that each law enforcement officer be able to demonstrate an acceptable level of fitness before graduation from the basic course. A. The Board recognizes that fitness can greatly mitigate the effects of stress, heart and back problems. These three problems are the leading causes of lost time in law enforcement agencies nationwide. By reducing these effects, productivity will be improved. B. Other additional areas of concern that fitness can effectively influence are self-defense, arrest and use of force techniques. Fitness increases exponentially the options available to the enforcer in a confrontational setting. The appearance of law enforcement officers is a major influencing factor in the development of a citizen's first impression. An officer who appears to be profoundly unfit would make a poor first impression and diminish the public's trust in the institution. The officer's confidence and appearance are improved as fitness levels improve, thereby adding greatly to the officer's credibility. Confident, credible and competent officers are more effective in the performance of their duties. C. Upper body strength, agility, cardiorespiratory endurance, flexibility and body fat are five measurable characteristics of fitness. The officer's body fat percentage is evaluated as a part of the medical examination required prior to attendance at the training academy. The Board has adopted a fitness test that measures each of the following areas: upper body strength - through push-ups; agility - through a timed agility run; and cardiovascular endurance - through a 1½ mile run. The minimum acceptable score for this test is 70% for each event. The test has been age and gender adjusted to ensure that the scoring reflects the average for the general population of each group. Note: The passing score represents the average ability of the total population for each age and gender group, therefore an officer need only possess average fitness abilities to pass the test. D. Following academy registration activities, the first physical fitness test shall be administered. To remain in the program, each candidate must demonstrate an acceptable level of fitness by achieving a score of not less than 50% on each event. Requiring students to achieve a 50% score at the beginning of the training program optimizes the chance that every student will achieve 70% by the end of the program. Further, insuring that all students begin the program at an acceptable level of fitness will diminish the incidence of injuries.