University News Last updated 12 September 2013
Physical fitness tests used by the police could unfairly preference overweight male officers over healthy female colleagues, research from Birmingham City University has revealed.
From this month all UK police forces are expected to assess the fitness of their officers by using compulsory physical fitness tests with the expectation that those who are not fit enough to meet the challenges of modern police work are screened out.
Officers who fail the test - which will feature a 15-minute shuttle run and ‘push and pull’ testing to measure upper body strength - can be put on a training regime and have two more chances to pass. From September next year, officers who fail three tests will face disciplinary action and possible expulsion from the force.
Coinciding with the introduction of this new testing regime research from Birmingham City University has highlighted the potential for hidden bias when using a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to fitness testing.
“Given the serious impact of the results of the new compulsory testing, we attempted to ascertain how useful such fitness tests are,” said research leader Professor Craig Jackson, Head of Psychology at Birmingham City University.
“This research is the first large scale study into the ‘usefulness” of police fitness tests since the recommendations of the Winsor review were published in 2012.
Professor Jackson said when applied to a diverse workforce from many different backgrounds it is a difficult challenge to have a universal test that is fit for purpose. The project analysed a gender-neutral timed obstacle course mimicking a range of police activities, which must be completed within 3 min 45 secs, regardless of sex. Data was taken from five years of police records, looking at the fitness performance of police recruits taking part in this test.
Professor Jackson, a leading expert on occupational health, explained: “Five years of test performances were randomly sampled, providing data for 1,701 police officers. This data revealed that 24 per cent (397) failed, accounting for just seven per cent of all male candidates but 42 per cent of all females attempting the test.
“Females failed two specific obstacles significantly more often than males, the ‘body drag’ task and ‘gate weave’. Errors made on these two obstacles alone accounted for 49 per cent of all errors made by females.
“Test success was significantly associated with males who were younger, taller, heavier and of lower body mass index. Of all police candidates who attempted the test, 42 per cent were classed as overweight, and a further 8 per cent were obese.
Professor Jackson concluded that this particular test was not a useful screening tool because too few candidates were appropriately screened out. “In my view, too many of those failing were healthy females, while too many who passed could be classed as overweight or even obese males.”
He added: “While the sentiment of the Winsor review was to modernise policing and make officers more relevant to the twenty-first century, this research has highlighted that workplace fitness and equality are highly complex matters and cannot easily be measured.
“Also, background demographic factors in the study revealed that police officers are just as susceptible to obesity as the general public, and that being in the police is not predictive of fitness, as it is with other uniformed occupations that have routine fitness testing.”
With fitness now a new focus of the police, Professor Jackson urges police leaders to test their workforce and be aware of the potential of hidden bias in their measurements of performance.
“The modern police service has worked very hard to build a workforce that reflects the diversity of the society it serves – and I am sure this message will assist forces in safeguarding that diversity as new reforms are introduced,” added Professor Jackson.