The Use of Work Place Physiological Measurements to Establish the Minimum Fitness Standards Required for Entry into the United Kingdom Police Service

The Use of Work Place Physiological Measurements to Establish the Minimum Fitness Standards Required for Entry into the United Kingdom Police Service

The use of pre-entry fitness tests as a means of screening recruits has been adopted by the United Kingdom Police Service. However, validating the minimum standard for such tests has proved to be challenging but essential if such tests are going to accurately reflect the aerobic demands of the job. This study compared heart rate and blood lactic acid values measured in the work place environment, with values obtained during a 15m shuttle running test that is used as the test for aerobic fitness on recruits wishing to enter the police service in the United Kingdom. A total of 119 subjects were used in the study (75 males, 44 females), mean age 31.7 years. Work place physiological measurements focussed on “officer safety training” (OST), a compulsory and standardised programme of physical and technical activities, since it was felt that this provided an accurate reflection of the primary physical demands of the job including strength, power, aerobic demand and flexibility. The 15m shuttle run test was completed by all subjects until 4 shuttles on level 5 of the test had been completed, which is the current minimum standard for entry into the UK Police Service.