Students at the Police Academy must pass the Physical Proficiency Test (PCT) in order to graduate.
photograph: RNZ / Richard Tindyler
A former police officer said compulsory fitness tests were too difficult and needed to change if police forces wanted to recruit and retain more front-line staff.
Other former and current officers agree.
The government acknowledged it would be difficult to deliver on a coalition agreement to train 500 new staff within two years, with Minister Mark Mitchell saying it would need to commit to three years and then recommit to two years. .
Former police officer Gavin Benny says the Physical Proficiency Test (PCT) that police college students must pass to graduate is never fit for purpose, and many other former police officers agree. agree.
Benny, who was in the military for 30 years, said physical ability tests on students and military personnel are pointless.
Tests are necessary, but they must be relevant and should not involve climbing 2.5-metre walls or dragging bodies, which few police officers do on the front lines. he said.
Once certified, police officers must retake the exam periodically.
Police Association president Chris Cahill said the PCT involves a combination of tasks that must be completed within a set period of time depending on age.
“It involves pushing a heavy trailer, carrying a spare tire, walking over beams, jumping over ditches, climbing through some windows, climbing over fences, and running 200 meters.” [and] I’m dragging my body. ”
He said upper body strength changes over time, so officers over 50 don’t need to climb over the wall.
Benny said he was aware of a number of police officers who were injured during the inspection.
Mr Cahill acknowledged this, saying the 2020 figures showed 108 injuries, but the number of minor accidents was probably higher.
The association said it had done everything it could to help people stay.
One police officer sustained a serious knee injury after jumping over a ditch. Although she recovered, she was unable to undergo tests due to psychological factors.
Police officers can carry out all other tests, which the association argued is sufficient to continue. Police agreed.
Mr Cahill said about three to four staff members who were injured on the job each year were unable to pass the exam and had to leave.
Asked whether the test should be made simpler, he said it had been peer-reviewed and deemed fit for purpose.
But he said it was a divisive issue.
“There is a very strong polarity. [opposite] An opinion on whether it is relevant or not. Someone who has been in the police force for a long time and can clearly show that he can do the job but is injured and he may not be able to pass the PCT should obviously not lose his job. ”
Cahill noted that, similar to the 2022 Capitol protests, police need some form of testing to ensure all officers are fit for front-line duty.
Officers who can show they are willing to overcome their injuries are most likely to remain at the scene, he said.
Mr Benny said there was an urgent need for change in the police force to attract more recruits, and that it needed to come from the top.
So can Police Minister Mark Mitchell, a former dog handler and armed criminal, still pass a fitness test?
“Given his age, he’s probably only been touching walls lately…so I think he’s probably okay,” Benny said.