Longitudinal Changes in Strength of Police Officers With Gender Comparisons

Abstract

Strength is a critical factor in the health and job performance of police officers. Using a retrospective longitudinal design, the purpose of this study was to identify differences in strength scores from initial recruitment to in-service tests and to compare gender differences. Strength changes were also compared in low- to high-strength groups. Strength scores included bench press, bench press/lean weight, and bench press/weight. Body weight, percent body fat, and bench press scores were retrieved for the 1990-1995 recruit classes and were paired to most recent scores on 2006 in-service fitness record. Sample included 327 police officers: 30 females and 297 males. Mean age at initial recruitment was 24.6 years and for in-service was 37.1 years. Average time between tests was 12.5 years. Over this period bench press and bench press/lean weight significantly increased for both gender groups (p <or= 0.05). Bench press/weight remained relatively consistent. When dividing the men's strength scores into five low- to high-strength groups, there tended to be an averaging effect over time with the strongest group changing least and the weakest group changing most. In conclusion, the results of this study did not follow expected strength trends, which reported annual declines in muscular strength in men and women. Overall, officers increased in strength well into their late 30s. The practical applications of this study include documented benefits gained from maintaining ongoing fitness training and testing, as well as the potentially positive role of weight gain on strength. Also, low- to high-strength groups did not change relative positions over time even with improvements in strength scores, demonstrating the importance of minimum selection criteria for police.

Associations Between Body Fat Percentage and Fitness among Police Officers: A Statewide Study

“…The authors reported that female officers had approximately 44% of the upper body strength of male officers and attributed this positive finding to maintaining ongoing fitness training and testing by departments. Differences in sample size, types of testing and study design may account for some of the differences in findings between our study and those of the Boyce et al [33].…”

“…Contrary results have been found in other studies. For example, Boyce et al [33] found in a 12.5-year longitudinal study of police fitness that both male and female officers increased in strength well into their 30s and 40s. The authors reported that female officers had approximately 44% of the upper body strength of male officers and attributed this positive finding to maintaining ongoing fitness training and testing by departments.…”

Longitudinal Changes in the Physical Activity Patterns of Police Officers

“…Figures 2 and 3 show that training for police officers was less goal-oriented and that fewer police officers used training programmes. According to Boyce, Jones, Schendt, Lloyd, and Boone (2009), these results are problematic. Boyce et al (2009) emphasised the importance of implementing a structured physical fitness programme in a police environment with the objective of promoting improvement over time.…”

Arresting a Struggling Subject; Does the Forthcoming Police Officers Physical Fitness have an Impact on the Outcome?

“…Considering that critical situations, which demand high intensity physical involvement, do occur independent of the officer's age and physical fitness these findings are disturbing. A lowered physical fitness level related to increased age could seemingly have a negative impact on the result of the situation [3,10]. Regarding stature, body mass and BMI correlated with the physical index and the arrest index, no significant findings were disclosed.…”

“…However, due to regularly emerging episodes of high physical exertion the occupation can still be physically demanding. Such episodes are often occurring acute and can be stressful, critical and even life threatening for both the officer and the surrounding civilians [1,3]. So even if the major part of the job can be executed independent of a police officers' physical fitness, some tasks still demand certain level of physical fitness to be handled and if the officer is not capable of managing these tasks as well, it can be questioned if he or she is capable of doing the job at all.…”