On Job Fitness

Recruits at the elite New York Police Academy are put through a vigorous six-month training and are required to demonstrate mastery of the curriculum by achieving a minimum passing score of 75%. Each recruit is also evaluated in 12 individual scenarios as well as numerous role-play exercises and workshops before he finally graduates.

In India, the training schedules for fresh recruits ensure that they are put through a gruelling routine, which makes them fit physically and mentally. At the Police Training School in Meerut, Sunday Times saw a batch of newly inducted women constables going through a long training process, incorporating four-five hours of physical training, drills and games every day. “When constables leave us after the training, they are supremely fit,” says an instructor. “The problem comes after a few years in service, when they tend to become physically inactive.”

Though experts agree that policemen should be fit, many consider the use of physically demanding tests for promotion as unfair. Arvind Verma, a former IPS officer who now teaches criminal justice at Indiana University, feels the tests should also take into account whether physical fitness is necessary in the candidate’s functions. “A number of US court judgments have questioned this matter,” he says. “In Tooner vs Brown County, the courts ruled that wearing glasses cannot be considered a liability. In Thomas vs City of Evanston, the courts ruled that physical agility cannot be similarly considered a necessity and that it will discriminate against women. These judgments have established that any kind of physical and mental fitness test must meet three conditions — proper job analysis, content of the job and discernment of who can do it and who cannot. Not every policeman is out there on the field battling mobs and chasing offenders. Indeed, most are physically unfit and yet continue to do a good job.”