Topic: Why are there so many Police Departments that do not have police officers who are not physically fit.
Research Question (s):
What is the relationship between Police Officer physical fitness level and their job performance? What is the relationship between police Officers physical appearance and the public’s perception? What is the relationship between Police Officers and their police departments having a physical fitness program and allowing their employees to work out? What is the relationship between hiring new Police who are in good physical condition and preparing them for the police academy?
Hypothesis:
This research paper is to be a comprehensive review of the requirements needed to create a physical fitness and wellness
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However, many police departments do not address any fitness issues after the police officers are hired. Police academies conduct proper physical fitness in their training as part of the requirements for graduation, and these practices should continue when police officers become full-time employees. The police academies also use physical strength and agility testing, and a passing score is required to stay in the program. Most police departments forget or lose interest in maintaining outstanding and fit police officers. Those agencies don’t understand why their officers have such high stress and often die much earlier than those working in other professional fields (Gaines, Falkenberg, & Gambino, 1993). Therefore a physical fitness program would be beneficial to the health and welfare to those getting paid to protect and serve their …show more content…
The second part addresses the officers’ health currently as well as in the future. The officer’s total fitness achieves the development of the healthy change in lifestyle, taught and supported by the agency’s administrators. These fitness lifestyle changes consist of tobacco cessation, nutrition, stress management, weight management, regular exercise, and substance abuse prevention is the foundation of the agency-based program. (Smith & Tooker, 2005). The benefits of a fitness program can produce a vast amount of advantages for its participants and the agency. By improving their personal well-being and fitness levels, officers will improve the ability to perform specific physical tasks. The first improved ability to mobilize the body efficiently, second this will improve tolerance to fatigue. Third, it will reduce the risk while performing physical tasks, the fourth will enhance their psychological preparation, and last, this will contribute to reducing the stress associated with health
The author wanted to bring awareness to the issue and get Marines input about the issue to see how large the issue is. All of the info in the article it is undeniably a large issue. The Corps has a few things to do to help their Marines get into better physical shape. For example, one task the Corps needs to do is promote the resources it already has available for Marines through the Semper Fit Program. This program was developed to educate Marines on how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and how to make sound fitness choices while providing them with the resources needed to stay in shape. In the article Taibi Said “It is important to ensure that healthier food choices are available on base.” This is very important, and the Corps has a responsibility to ensure that this happens for the Marines to be successful with the new standards. The high standard of Marines physical appearance, and fitness shouldn’t be a priority for Marines in combat zones. In combat zones they have enough risks and potentially life threatening dangers as it is. The Corps should not have “weigh-ins” in combat zones. The goal behind this article is to get General James Conway or his predecessor to do something different so that Marines have other options and more support to meet these standards or to have a little leniency like
Chief Concerns. Police Use of Force: The Essentials of Officer Aftercare. Anderson, Beverly J. 2005. http://www.mpeap.com/staff/bevarticle1.pdf
"Studies, Case Law, Quotes, Standards and Trends in Support of a College Education for Police Officers." Police Association for College Education (PACE). Web. 02 Mar. 2011..
Investigate the contemporary body of knowledge that underpins the current recommendations for exercise programming in the pursuit of improved health.
Vila, B., Kenney, D., Morrison, G. B., and Reuland, M. (2000, August 28). Evaluating the Effects of Fatigue On Police Patrol Officers: Final Report. U.S. Department of Justice. Retrieved on December 7, 2013 from
the psychological health of police, fire, and ambulance officers.” International Journal of Stress Management, Vol. 11, pp. 227-44.
The law enforcement officers suffer quite more job-associated stress than the people living in the community. Many have had to realize that the nature of the profession itself may be exposing officers to the increased levels of stressors. In essence, job-associated stress is among the major health concerns of the law enforcement community, and this is because it can have some impact on the physical, mental and emotional well-being of the officers. The difference in the stressors between the law enforcement personnel and other individuals is the fact that, the enforcement officials get to interact with the human population that are quite angry, upset or even uncooperative, in which case it takes some toll on
Police stress is viewed as a structural problem that is amongst the police culture (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). The argument made is that the working environment causes the stress. Even though a police officers job is not as dangerous officers still determine the danger as a source of stress. Police stress can be split up in to three sources: occupation, job-related and external stress (Kappeler & Potter, 2005). Just the thought of the job gives officers stress. Job-related circumstances such as responding to calls can also create stress. Finally, external sources such as personal stress can all lead to an officer being highly
First, stress in the lives of police officers often result in poor performance from sleep deprivation and panic. Sleep deprivation is one effect that stress can have on officers. The fatigue that stress causes can very literally kill the affected officer. Many times, officers hold anxiety inside them. When they are in bed, they are oftentimes let alone to think, which leads to many “racing thoughts” and “what if’s” (Koeling). Thinking about such things can keep officers awake for hours, leaving them fatigued and sleep-deprived when they report for work the next day. More causes of sleep deprivation are due to stressful, long shifts and odd hours (Casey). As a third-shift security guard for four years, Carl Koeling has had his share of sleep deprivation. In a recent interview, he said that when he stood a sleep-deprived watch, he remembers feeling “lightheaded and woozy” (Koeling). As a psychologist for thirty-eight years, Koeling also knows that fatigue caused by stress can also affect officers’ judgement, balance, and physical health (Koeling). It is vital that these three things be working properly for those in law enforcement, as the work they do often depends on good decision-making, decent balance, and high levels of physical fitness and well-being (Miller “Law Enforcement”). Panic is another effect that stress can have on police officers.
This paper will show four different police departments that are currently hiring or recruiting for police officers. There will be a summary on the research found on the process used to recruit police officers. It will also show their current hiring trends and what hiring practices they have that are successful or not successful. The paper will also go over the different methods departments use to train their new officers and their values.
While the positions within the correctional officers’ scope of responsibilities can range from working on a computer to interacting with inmates, physical strength is necessary. An officer has to be able to deal with potential physical interactions with inmates, whether that is restraining them, fighting them off until help comes, or subduing an inmate. Being a corrections officer is not for the faint of heart, maintaining physical health is a key reason why corrections officers have a high turnover. As officers age, it becomes harder to deal with the physical issues that they face on the job. Many inmates can outweigh a corrections officer, making it hard for one to fight with one inmate not to mention more than one. This is one of the reasons for eliminating rec equipment in the facilities in jails and prisons. The inmates were lifting weights all day and getting bigger and bigger creating a hazard for the corrections officers. Officers must have the physical strength to maintain their safety as well as those around them. Officers have to go through many tests prior to being hired. You must be able to “run 1.5 miles in under 17 minutes and 17 seconds, do 15 pushups and 11 sit-ups.” (Public Safety Testing, 2017) These are just the basic physical skills the officers need and as I have described prior, the mental skills and ability to cope with the job are
Officers must take into consideration of people’s “beliefs, values, patterns of thinking, behavior and everyday customs that have been passed on from generation to generation.” This shapes how people understand the world. Culturally diverse officers tend to show less physical
Police recruitment is very important to all law enforcement agencies; it seeks to recruit, select, train and maintain the best possible officers (Grant et al, 2012). This paper will give you the reader a general understanding of police recruitment and also discuss some of the problems happening in police recruitment; past and present, along with remedies to these problems.
"Physical Activity and Public Health." Scholar Commons of South Carolina. American Heart Association, 2007. Web. 03 Apr. 2014.
There is no question that communication can be applied to police work; communication is police work. Using the correct communication, a police officer can be the difference between an easy arrest, and a gun fight. The people that officers are dealing with are often stressed out, angry, drunk, or on drugs. With these circumstances, if an officer does not have respectable communication skills and is getting an attitude, the perp will not respond well. As important communication is in police work, it is also a great life skill in general. Along with communication, staying healthy and in shape, will certainly make me a better cop. If I am healthy, I will be in a generally better mood. It has been proven that people who exercise regularly and eat right are more likely to be in a good mood and less stressed out. These are very important as a cop because if you are in a bad mood and stressed out and you do not hide it well, your communication will not be great and a situation can change from decent to dangerous. Staying in shape will also be increasing my likelihood of apprehending a perpetrator that is running, or if I get in the situation where a perp tries to fight me, I am safer. Although as an officer, I am not trying to be all big, bad, and intimidating, intimidation can keep me from being a target. Criminals have said that if a police officer does not have a clean, nice looking uniform, an assertive stance, and if they do not look in shape, they are more likely to try and hurt or be difficult with that police officer. However, if an officer looks nice, has a ready, assertive stance, and looks like they take care of themselves, they are less likely to be a target, not matter their size. Communication and staying healthy are both life and career techniques that apply greatly to my career choice,