Fit To Serve? Dramatically Fewer Are Able to Physically Do the Job
Is the real issue a shortage of officers, or a scarcity of strong leaders?
I would be healthier if I lost 20 pounds. I am in no position to throw stones at unfit youth, but when I was 25 years younger, I was in far better shape than the youth today.
In fact, many people in my shape at my age including myself, are today better equipped to step into a physically demanding job like police work than the vast majority of 18–24-year-olds. This is a situation vexing military recruiters: “A new study from the Pentagon (in 2022) shows that 77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, using drugs or having mental and physical health problems.” Five years prior, 71% were ineligible based on the same criteria.
Doing the math, that’s a decrease of 6% in five years. It’s an unsustainable trend.
Lowering Standards
In 2023, the State of New Hampshire, top cops were asking lawmakers in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee to drop the physical fitness test. “I would rather have a large, strong officer who just can’t do 20 sit-ups with me as opposed to no officer at all,” (Chief Charles) Rataj said. “Or I would rather have a detective lieutenant who’s outstanding at investigating sex offenses and who is in her mid to late 40s and just can’t run a mile and a half without hurting her hips.”
In New York City, lowering academy standards is attributed as a contributing factor to the departure of the previous police commissioner. She, the police commissioner, was against lowering police academy standards that included a 1.5 mile run at the conclusion of the academy. Rumor has it that it was not a demanding run or even a strenuous speed walk. This would have followed 25 weeks and nearly 300 hours of physical conditioning and defensive tactics training. The deputy chief over training sidestepped the commissioner and got approval to make the change from a deputy mayor at city hall.
Diminishing hiring pool
It is not just those young people who are physically unable to serve, but less and less of them want to make that effort to get in shape. In the early 1990s, the Orange County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office had a handout with a list of exercises to prepare potential applicants. Arguments by new and veteran officers are that foot pursuits never exceed one mile and rarely involve planks so why are we asking for more than 30 pushups per minute? Knowing one’s physical limits through experience, working to exhaustion, is vital mentally when dealing with a resisting subject or defending yourself.
Fewer young people are engaged in sports that test their limits. Of those that are less healthy than in previous decades are in grievously worse shape. Beginning in 2007, I began traveling to the Midwest states of Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota on a regular basis and I observed in the countryside the toll that poor nutrition and general prosperity had taken on the youth and young adults. Public restrooms had sharps containers for insulin needles.
“In the late 1970s, the obesity rate among American adults was around 15% and rose to 42% by 2020, and roughly one-quarter of teens were also obese.”
Decades prior, I travelled to these areas regularly and people in cities were unhealthy and even sick, while folks outside the suburbs were typically hearty and strong. In the time that passed, roles were reversed, and it was not unusual to see trim city dwellers running and jogging on Lake Shore Drive with temperatures in the 20s.
Two other factors that are impeding fitness for service include behavioral health issues and acceptance of illegal substance use. It is becoming clear that these are occurring in concert. I’ve been reading both
and Jonathan Haidt this year and their revelations provide a roadmap to understanding what is happening with Generation Z and why. They both have a presence on Substack with links in the references and I encourage you to follow them.
Based on established knowledge, we know that two commonly treated behavioral health issues, anxiety and depression, are being treated two or three times as frequently - as in years past - with as many factors as possible being equal. It is apparent, to everyone except therapists and parents, that the emergence of these conditions in these models and patterns can only be iatrogenic, unintentionally induced by the care provider or diagnostic procedure. Both Gen Y and Gen Z bear diagnoses like merit badges and are inclined in to bring them up in casual conversations. It is an expression of specialness and humble commonality, oblivious to the duality.
The cultural acceptance of drug use, especially prescription drug abuse, by Gen Y and Gen Z cause a false perception of police as oppressors. A friend of mine answered the door while her son was in drug rehab to his friends dropping off unprescribed Xanax. She forcefully and bravely declined and now, years later, her son is thriving and healthy. That story speaks volumes of the normalcy of drug use, dropping by innocently like a neighbor providing a cup of sugar, and the need for parents to tell losers to hit the road.
Culture and attitudes
We are losing too many capable youth, not just first responder candidates, but for so many aspects of functioning society, to these issues where ‘acceptance’ of their own adopted mental health diagnoses, and their allegiance to causes that liberalize destructive and lethal drug use.
‘Work out for weeks to lose weight and gain strength to get a $50,000 per year job where I am going to have to arrest my friends and talk to scary people at night? There’s no incentive for me to do that. I’m one of the 56% of 18–24-year-olds still living at home.’
Our hiring pool were the descendants of first responders. They were from the families who honored service above all. As a little kid, I visited friends of my parents who had a scanner in their home. I had never seen such a thing, but they were volunteer paramedics in Westchester County, NY prior to EMS being married to the fire service. It was striking then as it is today, how proper it is to prioritize service within the family unit. Dr.
is correct: we are not in a recruiting crisis, unless you call it a leadership crisis.Police media portrayal
I’ve heard that Perry Mason was the first time that the veracity of police was broadly questioned via fictional portrayals in a widely viewed audience via television media.
There have been plenty of movies and TV shows where the police are the bad guys and yet, polls reveal that despite a hit in 2020, cops are held in far higher esteem than school principals, medical professionals and even judges.
The enemies of law enforcement have been effective in diminishing trust in law enforcement. Cops didn’t deserve that 10% hit in trust in 2020 that is being rebuilt over time. But the police have been beat up mercilessly by the mainstream media validating and propagating disabused narratives and making unremarkable encounters racially charged cases. These fed into the fiction realm, where for years, police were portrayed with latent racism and blatant corruption. It got to the point where you just had to quit watching ‘The Rookie’ and ‘9-1-1’ among other mini-series.
The good news
Law enforcement, as well as other first responders and corrections, don’t need that many people to function. We need fit, focused visionary leaders who are able to handle the physical and mental stress of hours of tedium punctuated by minutes of demanding focus and clarity under pressure.
Current leadership tells us that we are in a crisis and Generation Z is no good for police work. That is a feckless lie, and I have the amazing Gen Z rising young adults who continue to inspire me who prove it. The truth is that over the last eleven years, leadership has betrayed the previous generation, those hired before and during the 1994 crime bill, who will never let their daughters and sons’ lives be sacrificed under cowardly leadership.
Today, we are seeing people drawn to strong, faithful, and courageous leadership. You see it across the country, especially in sheriff’s offices. It turns out we don’t have a shortage of prospective officers but a shortage of true leaders.
Please keep all peace officers, first responders and corrections officers in your prayers, especially the young ones!
Roland Clee served a major Florida police department as a Community Service Officer for more than 26 years. His career included uniformed patrol, training, media relations, intelligence, criminal investigations, and chief’s staff. He writes the American Peace Officer newsletter, speaks at public safety, recruiting and leadership conferences and helps local governments and public safety agencies through his business, CommandStaffConsulting.com. His work is frequently featured on LawOfficer.com, the only law enforcement owned major media presence in the public safety realm.
Currently, he is the Director of Engagement for Shepherds and Sheepdogs, LTD on the team hosting the inaugural conference in Orlando, May 12-14, 2025. Three days of exceptional speakers who will revolutionize the way we treat, train, and lead! Click below to find out more.
References
https://www.npr.org/2023/10/05/1203766333/us-army-military-recruit-pentagon-air-force-navy
Standards and the maintaining of them throughout your entire career. The job doesn't get any less demanding the older you get and last time I checked , bad guys don't take it easy on you because you're older and out of shape. It is beyond embarrassing, its criminal , the level of physical incompetence that is allowed to exist. I can't be the reason you don't make it home and if the reason You don't go home is because I have decided not to make health and physical conditioning a priority, thats completely unacceptable. Sorry for the rant, Great article as always my friend!!!!!!
One thought on the physical fitness standard: I think it hurts the profession that most police agencies have PT standards that start 2 months before the academy and end the day of graduation. There's obviously a lot of difficulties and you don't want to lose talent over a 15 year veteran who can only do 29 pushups, but I find it wild how few agencies require any standard beyond "can fit into a Ford explorer".