Race Comparisons Of Longitudinal Changes In Strength Of Police Officers

Abstract

Strength profiles of police officers from recruitment to in-service, especially when considering gender, race and age, provides a basis for designing effective training, hiring, and retention procedures. No longitudinal police research was found that compared strength changes over time relative to race. PURPOSE: To identify differences in strength scores from initial-recruit to in-service tests and to compare racial differences using a retrospective longitudinal design. METHODS: Strength variables included bench press, bench press/lean weight and bench press/weight. Body weight, percent body fat, and bench press scores were retrieved for the 1990 to 1995 recruit classes and were paired to the most recent scores on 2006 in-service fitness log. Sample included 309 police officers: 30 females (13 black, 17 white) and 279 males (41 black, 238 white). RESULTS: Mean age at initial-recruit was 24.6 ± 3.4 years and for in-service was 37.1 ± 3.7 years. Average time between tests was 12.5 ± 2.0 years. Bench press strength significantly increased (p ≤ 0.05) for all gender and racial groups from initial-recruit to in-service tests. Black males vs. white males were significantly (p ≤ 0.01) stronger in bench press strength at initial-recruit (95.1 ± 24.6 kg vs. 84.1 ± 21.1 kg) and at in-service (109.5 ± 20.3 kg vs. 97.5 ± 20.6 kg). No significant differences in the amount of change were found between genders and between races for all strength variables. All racial and gender groups increased in bench press/lean weight, however the increase in white females was not significant. No differences were found between black and white females in all strength variables at both testing periods. Black males were significantly stronger than white males in bench press/weight only at the initial-recruit test (1.12 ± 0.27 vs. 1.03 ± 0.23, p ≤ 0.05). White males showed a significant increase in bench press/weight over time (1.03 ± 0.23 to 1.06 ± 0.22, p ≤ 0.05) but they did not reach the strength level of the black males at in-service (1.09 ± 0.20). CONCLUSIONS: Police departments, with the implementation of a properly designed physical fitness program, can expect to see increases in the strength of their personnel over the first half of their careers; however, there are gender and racial differences related to strength gain.