Females lag behind in police fitness tests

Female police officers are lagging behind their male colleagues in tests designed to demonstrate their fitness to carry out their duties.

A recent round of testing saw passes for 254 of the 256 male officers from Lincolnshire who took part – a pass rate of 99.2 per cent.

But that figure dropped to 88.7 per cent for the female officers, with 86 of the 97 who took part passing the test.

The test includes a 15 metre shuttle run, which is based on scientific research to match the aerobic demands of officer safety training.

The standard is the same as that used when recruiting officers.

Insp Jim Tyner, of Spalding Police, said the gender difference was mirrored across other forces.

Nationally, male officers achieved a pass rate of 99 per cent and female officers achieved 93 per cent.

Insp Tyner said: “This difference has caused some to challenge whether the tests are an appropriate measure of an officer’s physical ability.

“While it is essential that police officers are fit both mentally and physically to discharge their duties, there is no appropriate one size fits all test to ensure this is the case.

“I’m fairly sure these arguments will rumble on, but officers that fail the fitness test will be given support and an opportunity to re-take it.”

The results of almost 30,000 police fitness tests were published last month ahead of changes which will see fitness testing introduced for all officers in September following recommendations in the Winsor Review – an independent review of police officer and staff remuneration and conditions commissioned by the Home Secretary.

The results will now be examined by the College of Policing to understand how specific groups are performing and enable it to make any revisions.

National Fitness Working Group leader, assistant chief constable Rob Price said: “The results to date are encouraging and show the vast majority of officers tested are fit.

“New guidance will be issued to forces later this year with a strong emphasis on providing supportive measures to help officers pass the test.”

Insp Tyner says he feels it “unfortunate” that many have picked up on the failure rate of officers in the fitness tests, rather than celebrate the 97 per cent overall pass rate.

He said: “I think it’s absolutely right that the public expect police officers to be physically fit.

“As a man in my early 50s it is certainly more challenging for me than the younger fitter 1992 version of myself, but still achievable.”

Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, Steve White, said: “Fitness tests need to reflect the diverse nature of the police force and be appropriate for each individual role officers may undertake.

“The Federation continues to work with the College of Policing to ensure fitness testing is appropriate.”