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Tactical Strength and Conditioning

(37) EXPLORATION OF LAW ENFORCEMENT RECRUIT FITNESS ACROSS DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES

Friday, July 14, 2023
10:30 AM – 12:00 PM East Coast USA Time
Location: Milano III-IV
Abstract Details: Law enforcement agencies often attempt to hire diverse recruits that are reflective of their community. Recruits should ideally possess high levels of fitness to complete academy training; however, sociocultural norms (e.g., health behaviors, health care access, etc.) could influence fitness. Limited research has detailed the fitness of recruits with different ethnic backgrounds.

Purpose: To investigate fitness differences between law enforcement recruits of different ethnicities.

Methods: Retrospective analysis was conducted on data from 2041 recruits (1659 males, 382 females) from a southern Californian law enforcement agency. Recruits completed the following during the hiring process: 75-yard pursuit run (75PR); 60-s push-ups; 60-s arm ergometer revolutions; 60-s sit-ups; and 2.4-km (1.5-mile) run. Recruits self-reported their ethnicity as one of the following: Indigenous, Black, Hispanic, Asian, Filipino/Pacific Islander, White, and Non-Specified (recruit did not disclose their ethnicity; ethnicity not represented in options provided). A univariate analysis, with sex as a covariate, and group as the fixed factor determined between-group fitness differences (p<0.05).

Results: The breakdown of recruit ethnic groups is shown in Figure 1. For the 75PR, Black recruits were significantly faster than Asian (p=0.017) and White (p=0.032) recruits; Hispanic recruits were slower than Black, White and Non-Specified recruits (p< 0.001). Non-Specified recruits performed more push-ups than White recruits (p=0.031), and were significantly faster than Black and Filipino/Pacific Islander recruits in the 2.4-km run (p< 0.001).

Conclusions: Firstly, it should be clearly stated that ethnicity alone does not play a role in determining one’s aptitude as a law enforcement officer. However, the data did suggest that certain recruit ethnic groups exhibited differences in fitness (i.e., Hispanic recruits were slower in the 75PR [measure of change-of-direction speed], Black and Filipino/Pacific Islander recruits were slower in the 2.4-km run [aerobic fitness metric]). Law enforcement agencies should consider this information when hiring individuals who reflect the diversity of their respective communities, possible health disparities across different ethnicities, and how this could influence physical training. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: With the diversification of law enforcement agencies, personnel should have some understanding of sociocultural norms within a society that could influence fitness. This study found some fitness differences between recruits with different ethnic backgrounds. Moreover, this study also provides further evidence for the need for ability-based training in recruits, which could also benefit diversification of law enforcement agencies. A further suggestion is that law enforcement professionals who self-identify as ethnically diverse may be better able to communicate with individuals from various ethnic backgrounds relative to their fitness.

Acknowledgements: None