For many people, policemen and women are role models, looked up to for their role in guarding the civil law and order. Television and film industry often show these people as brave and strong, and it is no wonder that many people, especially young ones, want to become one of them.
While it may seem easy to enroll in police force, the truth is that police work is not a walk in the park. Because their task is usually very difficult and demanding, there are certain conditions and requirements that an Aspiring candidate for the force must fulfill.
Police force is today open and welcoming every citizen, regardless of the race and the sex. However, when it comes to physical and psychological assets, there are requirements that for some may seem like too much, but that are necessary for doing this extremely difficult job. In addition, considering how police work can often be quite dangerous and risky, not being fit enough can actually cost someone’s life.
Requirements for becoming a police officer
There is a desired degree of physical fitness and strength that a person must reach in order to become a member of the police force. Those values are measured through physical fitness tests, but there are other requirements as well. For example, a person must be of certain stature. Height and weight should be proportional, meaning that overweight or underweight persons will not be accepted. There are also requirements when it comes to hearing and vision.
A candidate must have a minimum eyesight of 20/20, with or without glasses or contact lenses. When it comes to hearing, he or she must be able to understand anything spoken in English and local languages, in different levels of volume, and to locate the source of sounds coming from the surroundings.
Other requirements include minimum age of 20 and education that varies according to the department and may range from high school diploma to a university degree.
Criminal background check, psychological evaluation, written tests and personality tests, both oral and written, are also usually performed when recruiting new candidates for the police force.
Physical fitness test
Physical fitness test is done to determine whether a candidate meets the requirements when it comes to force, stamina and strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, cardio-respiratory endurance and anaerobic power.
The tests vary from country to country but most of them include exercise such as push-ups, sit-ups, running or walking certain distances, climbing, crawling, chin-ups, broad jumps, sit-and-reach and similar.
Your thoughts on this
Loading...