Thin blue line rejects 350 ‘unf it’ recruits
POLICE Scotland has rejected more than 350 potential recruits in 12 months because they were not fit enough.
Figures released by the force show almost one quarter of all people who applied to join failed initial fitness tests.
Between April 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021, 358 applicants to Police Scotland regular constabulary failed to meet the standard of fitness required.
That is almost double the previous year’s figure when 196 applicants were rejected.
There are no mandatory fitness tests on serving police officers in Scotland, unlike England.
However, Police Scotland probationer officers undergo six fitness tests throughout their two-year probation period.
The figures revealed 44 probationary officers failed the fitness test in the 2021/22 period. Tam
‘Force should offer weight loss training’
Fry, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said: ‘The police, like the military, should offer weight loss training rather than lose aspiring recruits.
‘Whilst training they should, of course, not be assigned frontline duties until, ultimately, they are fit for purpose.
‘The police and recruits will feel better for it.’
The figures, released under freedom of information laws, show that 1,218 applicants passed the fitness test in the last year. It usually involves a ‘bleep test’ shuttle run where applicants race against the clock.
They are asked to repeatedly run between two markers placed 15 metres apart and the goal is to reach each marker before the sound of the next beep.
Candidates must meet language, numeracy and information handling standards in an education test, go through a vetting process and pass a criminal records check.
They must also pass medical, financial status and business interest checks, be tested for substance misuse, come through the two-year probationary period and pass the final fitness assessment. Superintendent Simon Wright, head of recruitment at Police Scotland, said: ‘Police officers are required to have a high degree of personal fitness and my advice to any candidates is to spend time preparing and developing this in advance of attending our fitness assessment.’