Should police officers be forced to stay in good physical shape?

Question

I see them all the time smoking and too overweight. I know they have to pass some kind of physical test to become an officer but after that is it just donuts and cigs?

Answer 1

YES they should, My husbands life and the life of others depend on them to be able to catch the bad guy and if they cannot keep up then that could get my husband or someone else killed. They depend on each other to be there for them, mentally, and physically. If they cannot they need to be moved behind a desk or something else, but not on the street to back others up when the physically can't.


p.s. my hubby is a former Marine and is in great physical shape and has chased many bad guys and though many have run, none have gotten away from him. They just went to jail tired.

Answer 2

In my dept it is a requirement. We must pass a physical exam to the Criminal Justice Academy standards.

As for the cigs, I don't smoke. Many do in all professions do, so I think that statement is stupid. The same goes for the donuts.

If you are asking a serious question, so be it. Your cheap shot about the cigs and donuts just shows your narrow-mindedness. Have a great day and remember, we are out there risking our lives for you so you can belittle our profession.

My thanks go out to all other Officers and Veterans that preserve our freedoms.

Answer 3

Forced ?? No
Given an incentive ?? Yes.
Most Police Officers that I know are in shape. Don't always be surprised about that large gut. Most Police work is 95 % pure boredom interspersed with 5 % absolute Terror. Now that 95% is them riding around in their patrol cars, sitting at a desk, filing paperwork etc... Not conducive to staying active.

Now if a Department was to do a weigh in and conduct a body fat analysis and then inform the Officer if he/she lost x amount of weight/body fat and maintained it that the department would lower their health care rates or pay a bonus for staying healthy ... then I believe that most Officers would get/keep themselves in better shape. Of course it would have to figure in age / sex of the Officer.

P.S. Not all Officers go to Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin Donuts is not that great when you have Krispy Kreme !!!!

Answer 4

Good point.
Actually, I think it would be a good idea to have a yearly physical that they would have to pass and show that they could continue to do thier jobs. Granted, some officers probably change job descriptions over the years (desk duty or the like).
I may get bashed for this one, But I dont think a lot women make good police officers or firefighters. I just dont believe they are physically able to do the job. I know if I was in a fire and I needed carrying, no woman is gonna be able to haul my as* outta there.

Answer 5

Yes. Although not all police officers are on the street all day long, I think there is (or should be) some standard to meet in order to perform the more physical aspects of the job.

It's tough to implement something like this through union negotiations though. You would also have to take into account age ranges....

Most cops I know may not look like they're in the best of shapes but they can still probably put a big hurt on somebody if need be.

Answer 6

Yeah I think all police officers should stay in good physical shape. Their job requires that. What happens if they were to get into a foot pursuit? They have to be able to chase after the person running away. It doesn't matter if they are not working in the field. There might be major event where police officers who work in offices, are needed for assistance.

Answer 7

Absolutely! In fact, I believe with some police agencies or special units, they are giving bonus pay if they pass physical fitness tests every year. Not to mention, if they can not perform their duty to the best of their ability, they can put other officers at risk as well as the public.

Answer 8

I agree. interior the section the place I stay, no longer in basic terms law enforcement officials that are obese, however the paramedics are incredibly obese too. i replaced into like, guy how are you able to be a paramedic once you're obese? You gotta circulate and do each and everything speedy to shop people's lives. On that word, I agree that an annual actual well being attempt could desire to be bolstered!

Answer 9

I believe they should, in addition their commanders should be advised by their higher ups to daily remind the officers that the public is watching them, they also need to be more moral. Many officers go out into the communities and forget that their gun or now tazer should be their last resort. Many don't know its in the constitution that we have the right to run away from them. I actually heard a officer on one of the cop shows say that. And that is why the cameraman and the producers of the show let us see this officer saying that , because the producers of the show knew that it was in the constitution stating we have the right to run away.

Answer 10

I think they should. I was just reading an article on CNN last night where the chief of police in a town was fired for trying to get his officers to take better care of themselves. He wrote a note that referred to them as having "jelly bellies", and it cost him his career.

When I lived in Chicago, I dated a police officer who was HUGE. He was 6'3 and 285 pounds!!! I saw police officers there who were OBESE!!! There were a couple of incidents where overweight cops even died of heart attacks when they were trying to chase people.

Yes, cops should be required to stay in shape. But good luck getting it done. The Police Officers Association and Union's have a LOT OF POWER!