Abstract
Specialist tactical response police are required to frequently perform physically demanding tasks at high-risk capability levels, emphasizing the need for optimal physical fitness in this population. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationships between select measures of physical fitness and performance on an occupational-specific physical assessment (OSPA). A retrospective analysis on 18 male specialist police candidates (age = 32.1 ± 5.04 yrs; height = 183.72 ± 5.79 cm; body mass = 89.44 ± 8.56 kg; body mass index (BMI) = 26.45 ± 1.58 kg/m2) was conducted. Data were comprised of anthropometric measures, assorted fitness measures and OSPA performance scores. A stepwise linear regression determined the influence of measured fitness parameters on OSPA performance. A regression featuring both the 1 RM military shoulder press and grip strength of the non-dominant hand was the most significant predictor of performance (adjusted r2 = 0.565, p = 0.001). A separate model, exclusively using the 1 RM military shoulder press additionally predicted OSPA performance (adjusted r2 = 0.240, p = 0.023). These results emphasize the importance of optimal upper-limb muscular strength and its impact on key occupational tasks in specialist police candidates.
Highlights
Physical fitness is a necessary and crucial characteristic of tactical populations due to the challenging and ever-changing nature of the job [1,2].Personnel enlisted in these professions require the physical capability to successfully perform in a variety of high-risk and dangerous situations [2,3]
The Pearson’s correlations between anthropometric measures and the occupational-specific physical assessment (OSPA) revealed no significant relationships between height, weight, body mass index (BMI) and Loaded body mass index (LBMI) and OSPA performance (Table 2)
The outcomes of this study suggest that both shoulder and grip strength were large and significant predictors of OSPA performance and had an even stronger predictive relationship when considered together
Summary
Physical fitness is a necessary and crucial characteristic of tactical populations (law enforcement, military, and fire and rescue) due to the challenging and ever-changing nature of the job [1,2].Personnel enlisted in these professions require the physical capability to successfully perform in a variety of high-risk and dangerous situations [2,3]. Officers, frequently resolve unique situations beyond that of general police [7] These teams often perform high-risk tasks including tactical vehicle intercepts, warrant executions, resolve hostage situations, counter-terrorism response, water operations, counter-assault high-risk dignitary protection, rural operations and other unclassifiable, specialized tactical operations [1,3,7]. As a result, these officers frequently carry and use special weapons and tactics when threatened with arduous situations [3]
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