Epress.am News from Armenia
Police officers in Britain who repeatedly fail a basic fitness test could be sacked for not being fit enough to do the job, a report said yesterday, the Irish Independent reports.
The most radical review of police pay and conditions for more than 30 years found three-quarters of men in Britain’s biggest force were overweight or obese.
It called for annual fitness tests to be brought in, with those who repeatedly fail at risk of being docked almost £3,000 (€3,600) and, in the most extreme cases, sacked for unsatisfactory performance.
Tom Winsor, who led the 18-month review, said fitness, qualifications, skills and experience on the frontline should all be at the heart of the police pay system in future.
“Running after a suspect, or apprehending a violent ordisturbed person, requires physical fitness and strength,” he said.
The fitness tests would see officers having to pass four 15 metre shuttle runs at level five of the so-called bleep test by September next year.
But this would be made harder by 2018, with officers facing tasks such as climbing over walls and pulling bodies in tests akin to those currently used by police in Northern Ireland.