Are The Women Police Officers Using The 'sexist Card', To Excuse Their Inability To Pass The Police Fitness Test?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/like-a-meat-market--police-fitness-test-for-new-recruits-attacked-for-being-sexist-8804129.html

/// A police fitness test has been labelled “unfit for purpose” because it discriminates against women and is geared towards overweight officers, a new study has found. ///

/// 52 per cent of male officers in the Metropolitan Police were overweight, with over a fifth obese. ///

If these figures are true then would one not think that the women would be more successful at completing the assault course than the men?

Yet that doesn't seem to be the case.

/// Over 90 per cent of men finished the course in time, while only 60 per cent of women completed it. ///

[emmie]

comments made by a male if you noticed?

[emmie]

from the link

the research, led by Professor Craig Jackson, head of psychology at Birmingham City University, called for the obstacle course for new recruits to be scrapped – describing how female officers were wolf-whistled at by male colleagues and saying the test was like a “sexist meat market”.

[jake-the-peg]

Interesting article

It completely misses a major part of his findings he was explaining on the BBC this morning.

Certain of the fitness tests inadvertantly descriminate against women - tests like a slalom run where having wider hips makes the test much more difficult.

I'd also be very cautious about the 'Overweight' police officers tag as we all know how reliable BMI classifications are especially with muscular people.

I think the 20% obese and the 1% morbidly obese are probably much more to be worried about

[emmie]

many of the police i see in the capital, that is when you actually spot one are overweight, rather short and look in need of some assistance.

[anotheoldgit]

/// Certain of the fitness tests inadvertantly descriminate against women - tests like a slalom run where having wider hips makes the test much more difficult. ///

And you don't think some men have wide hips Jake?

[youngmafbog]

Women do often have wider hips AOG, its for child bearing. Much as the right-on PC brigade would like us to believe men and women are equal we are not, we have different functions and bodies to match.

I suspect many of the men have wide hips due to salad dodging not a big pelvis!

[pixie373]

Only the overweight ones, og. There is something wrong if overweight people are more likely to pass a fitness test, than someone at the right weight?

[anotheoldgit]

youngmafbog & pixie373

Exactly the point I was making regarding male wide hips, the fact that they are over weight as pointed out in the report.

But it still makes one wonder if many of male police officers (as pointed out also in the report) are over weight, how are they more successful in completing the course, even taking into consideration the wolf whistles?

[pixie373]

It suggests to me that there is something wrong with the way they're tested.

[wolf63]

>>Mr Jackson called for the test to be ditched in favour of one that affords female officers “a little bit more privacy and dignity.”

These people (male or female) are being paid to protect us from bad stuff - I would like to think that the recruits have thick skins and are not at all worried about retaining some dignity during a fitness test.

The fitness test should test the candidates to see that they are fit for the job - with relevant areas of fitness checked.

I applied to join the police in 1980 but was turned down as I was too short.