Difference in Physical Characteristics and Fitness of Recruits from Smaller Versus Larger Law Enforcement Agencies

Larger law enforcement agencies (LEAs) will often hold academy training classes that include recruits hired by the large agency (LA), and recruits hired by smaller agencies (referred to as participating agencies; PA). Ideally, recruits should have adequate levels of physical fitness prior to academy as higher levels of fitness increase their likelihood of completing academy training. However, LA that need to fill more positions may have recruits with a wider range of fitness levels. The purpose of this study was to compare the physical characteristics and fitness of incoming law enforcement recruits from a LA and PA prior to academy. Retrospective analysis was conducted on eight academy classes, with a total of 581 recruits (481 males, 100 females). Physical characteristics measured were: age (LA = 27.47 ± 6.55 years; PA = 27.13 ± 4.79 years), height (LA = 172.54 ± 11.13 cm; PA = 175.77 ± 8.22 cm), and body mass (LA = 80.45 ± 13.51 kg; PA = 81.34 ± 20.57 kg). The fitness tests included: pushups and sit-ups completed in 60 s; vertical jump (VJ); medicine ball throw with a 2-kg ball (MBT); 75-yard pursuit run (75PR), and multi-stage fitness test shuttles (MSFT). A univariate analysis of variance (p < 0.05), with sex as the covariate, was conducted to determine the difference between LA (n = 510) and PA (n = 70) recruits. There was a significant difference in push-ups and sit-ups between LA and PA, with recruits from the PA performing significantly more repetitions in the push-up (47 ± 13 vs. 42 ± 15) and sit-up (41 ± 9 vs. 35 ± 9) tests. There were no significant differences between LA and PA recruits in the other tests. The differences in the strength endurance tests may be indicative of the larger variation within a greater hiring pool to fill vacant positions for the LA in this study, leading to a greater range of fitness levels in their recruits. PA could also be more selective in their hiring if there are more applicants than positions, although this cannot be confirmed from this study. Nonetheless, due to select fitness differences between LA and PA recruits, LEA staff should recognize that differences that may exist in recruits from different agencies prior to training. Future analysis is needed to determine where any fitness differences that may exist between agencies prior to academy is influenced by training advice provided by the agency, or more selective hiring practices.