Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and studies taken
and conducted in the Philippines and from other countries. This proves the
significance of the problem in most places of our country and the entire universe.
Books, magazine, journal and other printed materials including internet are the
sources of data. Their relevance on the problem is the reason of citing the
content and placing high importance in this study. The Related Literature and
Studies are presented by theme to be more specific to readers.

Related Literature
Physical Fitness and Wellness
According to Dolor (2012), there were studies have shown that
maintaining an adequate level of fitness is not only important to job performance,
but it helps relieve stress that builds up from day to day in the very demanding
profession of law enforcement. Luckily for police officers, the requisite levels of
fitness are far from Olympian. They can be attained in as little as three hours of
training per week. Coupling an exercise program with solid nutritional habits, not
using tobacco, and controlling the use of alcohol, the life expectancy of law
enforcement officers can approach that of their civilian counterparts. This
dissertation will examine the benefits brought by a healthy lifestyle and how that
relates to law enforcement. It will explain the ability of an officer to improve the
overall quality of their life, simply by exercising and following a fitness program.

15

The theory of implementing fitness standards, policies, and programs into the law
enforcement culture will be discussed and critiqued by looking at various
practices in place today. Some experts believe these fitness standards should be
mandatory, while others argue they should be voluntary. Most importantly, what
must be researched and expressed is the understanding that there is a serious
problem with our nations police officers and their current level of health and
fitness. Certain aspects of an officers personal life and job performance are
directly related to their level of fitness. By looking at numerous articles written by
fitness experts and law enforcement leaders, as well as surveying several police
leaders in the field today, an understanding of where we stand today in law
enforcement fitness will be examined. The problems have been recognized and
now it is time to try and determine the best course of action to take in combating
the largest and most dangerous killer, a killer that many do not consider. (Dolor,
2012)
In the Philippines, a criminology students conducted a research in their
undergraduate thesis about the Status of Wellness and Mental Health of
Selected Policemen of Puerto Princesa City Station. From 60 respondents, it was
found out that 89% or 53 of the policemen are physically fit and only 6 or 11%
had increased in the desired basal metabolic rate initiated by the National Police
Commission. The students found out that a strict regular fitness program is
implemented by the Police Chief to abide the requirements of the law in the job of
policemen. The remaining 11% are police officers who are designated in office
works resulting to lack of physical activities that would maintain their desirable

16

body weight. As recommended by the researchers, the physical fitness program

should also be extended to those officials who work in the office to achieve 100%
of the policemen are physically healthy. (Perez, et al.2013)
According to PO3 Ferrer (2013), the physical fitness of the policemen is
significant to their job performance. In his graduate thesis for Master in Public
Administration, it revealed that job performance would affect their physical
condition and health as resulted in the computation using pearson-r coefficient
that there was a strong correlation between the two variables. Therefore, he
recommended that a strong physical fitness program must be implemented to
attain the desirable body weight. It indeed important as quoted in the study that
health maintenance must be ensured because it would contribute in the
increased of crime in the locality when policemen is unable to carry the job
entrusted to them when most of them are physically unfit. Ferrer, also
recommended the physical fitness program such as Zumba, strenuous jogging
and wellness dance.
Relatively, policing is constantly demanding, sometimes strenuous, and
often frustrating. So many officers fall into the trap and become caught in these
frustrations. Personal lives, as well as job performance fall prey to the trap and
suffer. The frustrations and anger that manifest are often directed toward love
ones, fellow officers and citizens of their communities. These stresses can be
overcome by conditioning physical exercise. Physical fitness in itself is discipline,
the discipline to keep active and remain in good condition. The advantages of
exercise programs far outweigh the excess of inactivity. Exercise relieves the

17

tensions of the job and a conditioned body gives the sense of self-achievement
and a confident mental attitude Physical fitness has always played as large a part
in the initial training of police officers as learning the elements to crimes and
report writing. Police academies across the nation place high priority on instilling
the positives of physical fitness; stressing the large role it will play in an officers
career. Cadets are subjected to rigorous physical fitness training, including long
runs, weight training, calisthenics, and other aerobic activities. Officers go
through continuous post-academy training in areas such as legal updates,
firearms, pursuit driving, defensive tactics, and so on. However, fitness training
seems to be forgotten by many police departments. This is surprising based on
the statistics known regarding the importance of physical fitness as it relates to
police officers and their high number of health related problems. The very nature
of police work often makes it difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Working
rotating shifts, weekends, late hours, and holidays, will take its toll on health.
Americans today are simply not healthy overall. The consequences of being unfit
can mean more than poor job performance, but can lead to disability or death.
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, alcohol abuse, and stress
are all conditions affecting millions of Americans. These conditions are not
communicable illnesses from viruses or bacteria, but rather conditions related to
poor fitness. Choices you make about your lifestyle affect these conditions.
Choices such as what you eat, whether you exercise, what stresses you are
under, and many other factors in your daily life influence whether you develop
them. Can mean more than poor job performance, but can lead to disability or

18

death. Cardiovascular disease, cancer, high blood pressure, alcohol abuse, and
stress are all conditions affecting millions of Americans. These conditions are not
communicable illnesses from viruses or bacteria, but rather conditions related to
poor fitness. Choices you make about your lifestyle affect these conditions.
Choices such as what you eat, whether you exercise, what stresses you are
under, and many other factors in your daily life influence whether you develop
them. Dietary fat currently makes up 34% of the calories in the average American
diet. Too much dietary fat can create a higher risk of heart disease, breast and
colon cancer, and possible gall bladder disease. About one third of American
adults are overweight. Obesity has been linked with many chronic diseases such
as diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. It may also create orthopedic and lowerback problems. Smoking, substance abuse, and stress also contribute to health
problems. More than fifty million Americans smoke. Tobacco smoking doubles
the chances of heart. attacks, causes 20% of the deaths from stroke and 85% of
lung cancer, and is linked to other types of cancer, emphysema, and chronic
bronchitis. About eighteen million Americans currently have problems related to
alcohol, and about 7% of alcohol drinkers have moderate levels of dependency
symptoms. Alcohol abuse can damage brain cells, the liver, and other vital
organs. It also increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure,
and nervous disorders. Substance abuse of any kind can lead to violence and
accidents. Lastly, everyone has stress, but the ability to recognize and control
stress impacts our health and fitness. Stress can be a secondary risk factor in
major health problems, such as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, ulcers, and

19

lower-back pain. With these facts known and the fact that a police officers job is
so demanding, both physically and mentally, it is obviously apparent that there is
a serious problem today and higher priority should be placed on implementing
some type of wellness or fitness programs for officers to follow. Aside from the
health related issues, maintaining a professional image is also part of an officers
effectiveness. The image he or she portrays to the public is very important
because they are representing not only their department, but also police officers
in general. It has been stated that an officers image has a direct impact on their
effectiveness within their community. Fitness as a means to improve officers
images also fits into the recent trend to improve the professionalism of law
enforcement officials. Just as that trend has focused on areas such as ethics,
cognitive functioning, and interpersonal and social skills, it should also include
fitness. Officers fitness does directly relate to job performance, including the
ability to perform physical tasks and handle stressful situations. (Cited: Romulo,
Edilberto R. 2011)
Consequently, the importance of implementing physical fitness into law
enforcement training is paramount. The difficulty comes with determining the best
way to do it. The term fitness is somewhat one-dimensional and simply implies a
measure of performance on specific physical tests. Wellness, on the other hand,
is a term that encompasses many dimensions of health. Agencies not opting to
develop or implement a specific program or testing may choose to encourage
overall wellness to their employees. The dimensions of wellness are physical,

20

mental, spiritual, and emotional. In an article written for the National Academy
Associate Magazine. (2011)
Troy Hamilton (2011) explains this and the wellness culture as the
essence of the achievement of the mission and goals of a physical fitness or
wellness program. As stated prior, establishing a wellness program begins with
the support of the administration, which includes the leadership of the
organization and the representatives of the officers within the organization. It
means one hundred percent acceptance and support of the programs missions
and objectives. It means leadership through participation and modeling the
behavior you expect the officers to display. The wellness culture refers to the
inherent quality of providing peer support for continued adherence and
participation in healthy behaviors and supporting health and wellness education.
The components of a wellness program should emphasize the
improvement of all Dimensions of wellness and not just fitness. Strategies should
be used to make members of the organization want to participate and practice
healthy behaviors. Using peer support and the reinforcement of the programs
missions and objectives is vital. It is more important to implement these
strategies to make the officers want to participate rather than implementing
policies that mandate participation. By keeping the people of the department in
mind, the goals and objectives can be reasonably set to create a challenge, but
not hinder reasonable expectation of achievement. Perhaps by focusing more on
fostering motivation and wellness than on specific fitness feats, more people will
accept changes toward healthy behavior. (Adams, 2012)

21

To determine at what level of health risk an individual may be, a statistical

measure called relative risk was developed. Relative risk evaluates the likelihood
of dying or developing a particular disease for an individual with an identified risk
factor. An average risk would be noted as a relative risk of 1.0. The relative risk
for law enforcement for being unfit and inactive is 2.2. This means that unfit and
inactive law enforcement officers have a chance of suffering a heart attack 2.2
times greater than those officers who participate in a physical fitness program. If
an officer has a second risk factor, such as smoking, high blood pressure, or high
cholesterol, the increased risk rises to 6.6 times. One study of a major
metropolitan police department showed that almost 50 percent of its officers had
at least three of the five major risk factors for coronary heart disease: high
cholesterol, smoking, obesity, inactivity/poor cardiovascular fitness, or high blood
pressure. Because of this, it is not hard to understand why the average life span
of an officer after retirement is only two to five years. Major contributing factor to
this phenomenon is the lack of personal and agency fitness and wellness
programs. (Tan, Carlo, MD 2011)
In the law enforcement field, fitness also has a direct impact on job
performance. Based on job descriptions from agencies across the country, a core
list of physical tasks required to perform the duties of a law enforcement officer
were identified. The critical tasksthose tasks where poor performance could
put officers or the public in jeopardywere identified as running, climbing,
jumping, lifting/carrying, dragging, pushing, and use of force. For over 75 percent
of police apprehensions, the amount of resistance given by the suspect is

22

described as moderate or strong, and the average amount of time it takes to

subdue a subject can vary between 30 seconds and two minutes. For most
physical tasks lasting over two minutes, officers use 7590 percent of their
maximum capability. Cardiovascular endurance, anaerobic power, muscular
strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition are all underlying
factors in successful job performance. (Tan, Carlo, MD 2011)
An in-depth study conducted by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) in 2010 examined 40 cases of serious assaults against law enforcement
officers across the country. The incidents were analyzed through offender and
officer interviews and document reviews. Of the 52 officers participating in the
study, 47 stated that they were in excellent health at the time of the assault, four
reported being in better than average health, and the remaining officer reported
average health. Seventy-three percent of the officers were involved in a
physical fitness program, the most common of which were running and
weightlifting. Repeatedly, officers credited their fitness level with aiding them in
their survival. Physical fitness can also protect officers from becoming victims. In
the numerous offender interviews conducted by the FBI over the course of the
past 10 years, it was learned that offenders typically size up their victims when
deciding what they are going to do. Many had difficulty identifying a particular
trait or mannerism that made them pick or not pick a particular officer, but they
did articulate that the deciding factor was whether or not they felt they could take
them. If officers appeared fit and conducted themselves in a professional
manner, offenders hesitated; however, when officers were perceived as potential

23

targets, offenders capitalized on the situation. Officers need to be cognizant of

the image they convey and recognize that their appearance and demeanor in
uniform is a primary factor in how others will perceive them Physical fitness can
also protect officers from becoming victims. In the numerous offender interviews
conducted by the FBI over the course of the past 10 years, it was learned that
offenders typically size up their victims when deciding what they are going to do.
Many had difficulty identifying a particular trait or mannerism that made them pick
or not pick a particular officer, but they did articulate that the deciding factor was
whether or not they felt they could take them. If officers appeared fit and
conducted themselves in a professional manner, offenders hesitated; however,
when officers were perceived as potential targets, offenders capitalized on the
situation. Officers need to be cognizant of the image they convey and recognize
that their appearance and demeanor in uniform is a primary factor in how others
will perceive them.
Physical Health
Brandon Williams in 2011 cited that Police Academies instill proper
physical fitness and training as part of their requirements for graduation. Physical
strength and agility are tested and a passing score is required even before entry
is granted into an academy. It seems that most police departments quickly forget
or lose interest in maintaining healthy officers, yet they wonder why their officers
have such high stress and often die much earlier than those working in other
professional fields. Statistics suggest that police officers have increased risk of
premature death and may be more vulnerable to certain diseases, thus

24

increasing the importance of implementing a fitness routine and living a healthy

lifestyle. Most studies indicate that law enforcement officers die at earlier ages
than expected for the general population for all causes of death, and in particular
for diabetes, colon cancer, and cardiovascular disease. The high suicide rate for
police officers may be related to the amount of stress associated with police work
in general. Some of the topics that have a direct correlation with police officers
and a healthy lifestyle are: officer confidence, morale, works related injuries,
amount of sick time used, and the ability to handle oneself in a violent
confrontation. There is a strong relationship between physical fitness and police
officers performing at their optimum levels, on and off the streets. This paper will
address this relationship, along with recommendations for implementing fitness
standards and programs for todays law enforcement officers. Research from
magazine articles, books, newspapers, and the Internet will explore solutions to
the serious problem of having unhealthy police officers on patrol.
In an attempt to achieve a broad range of the current physical fitness
standards implemented throughout the state, a survey was conducted of the
members of the 14th School of Police Staff & Command at Eastern Michigan
University. The survey was responded to by officers from thirty-seven different
police agencies throughout the state, ranging in size from four sworn officers to
six hundred sworn officers. The survey asked the following questions:
1. Does your department have a fitness facility or pay for gym
memberships?

25

2. Does your department have a policy regulating fitness standards /

requirements (other than simply requiring officers to be prepared for
duty)?
3. Are you provided any on-duty time to exercise?
The results of the survey indicated that there actually were several
departments that either had a fitness facility, had access to a facility or a paid
membership to a gym. That is, nineteen of the thirty-seven departments
represented, claimed to have access to a fitness facility. The startling results
were that only three of the thirty-seven police departments have a policy
regulating fitness standards or some type of fitness program at their organization.
Also, only three departments allow officers to have some time to work out while
on duty. It seems that without a policy, just as with anything else, the available
resources are not used if there is no pressure or incentive to use it. A policy
would regulate or control the fitness activities performed by the individual officers.
Most of the officers surveyed conveyed that they and their departments do not
place much emphasis on physical fitness. It appears to be common for
departments throughout the state to not regulate, endorse, or even encourage
physical fitness by the members of their organization. There are always a few
exceptions to the rule, usually departments that are ahead of their time in
training, planning, and technology, departments that shine above the others.
These are the departments to look at for ideas for the future. One of the
organizations that does have a fitness policy, as well as allows officers time to

26

work out on duty, is the Traverse City Police Department. The Traverse City
Police Department has a physical maintenance program, which exists to
establish a standard by which a level of physical fitness can be measured,
identified, identify the employees affected and their responsibilities. The program
was adopted in conjunction with the Michigan Police Pre-Employment Testing
Program and is administered by the Munson Medical Centers Vital Choice
Program. The goal is to Commendations are awarded based on how well the
officers perform on the test. The commendation pins are worn on the officers
uniform. Employees are given a total of three opportunities to pass the test each
year. Personal fitness programs are implemented, along with time to train and
prepare for each of the testing attempts. Written reprimands and suspensions
can occur if the employee fails to pass the test after the second and third
attempt. The employee may be sent to the department doctor for a physical after
failing the third attempt. The doctor will report if the employee should be able to
pass the minimum requirements. Discipline is then determined from there.
Some police departments do have in-service wellness programs, but
rarely do they include consistent mandates in the training formula. According to
Jon Blum 2013, in an article and study written for The Law Enforcement Trainer,
Cited: Blum (2000) found that administrators typically cite legal, financial, or
scheduling problems as primary obstacles. Leadership and fortitude appear to be
equally relevant when implementing fitness and wellness requirements for police
officers. Well-intended and meaningful programs begin at the top. Blum
continues by pointing out that law enforcement executives who ignore, disagree

27

with, or haphazardly approach the physical training theme may in fact be more
embarrassed by their own personal exercise habits or other related
inadequacies.

Blum defines fitness as the ability to carry out daily tasks or

leisurely pursuits with vigor and alertness, but without undue fatigue. He
indicates that fitness may also refer to individual, but measurable levels of ability
when completing physically demanding tasks associated with aerobic (running)
and muscular (bench press, sit-ups) events. Wellness can be defined as a
lifestyle encompassing health related habits to include proper nutrition, smoking
cessation, cholesterol awareness, regular exercise, and stress reduction efforts.
From 2003 to 2013, a study was conducted by the Cooper Institute for
Aerobics Research that randomly sampled approximately 1,700 officers from
different law enforcement agencies across the country. The results show that
when compared with the general population, officers average fitness levels are
below normal in the areas of aerobic fitness, body fat, and abdominal strength
and average in upper body strength and lower-back flexibility. The data show that
law enforcement officers are less fit in most areas than at least half of all U.S.
citizens despite the fact that the physical demands of their profession require that
they be more fit than the average person . As a group, law enforcement officers
have a greater morbidity and mortality rate than the general public, due mostly to
cardiovascular disease, colon cancer, and suicide. Recent studies have shown
an annual increase in the frequency and severity of cardiovascular incidences
among law enforcement personnel. The risk of having a heart attack doubles with
each decade of law enforcement service. Because of this, numerous states have

28

adopted the heart and lung bill, allowing officers who develop cardiovascular
disease to take an early retirement. Furthermore, law enforcement officers suffer
more job-related stress than people in other occupations. Many realize that the
nature of the profession itself exposes officers to increased levels of stress.
Making split-second, lifesaving decisions; facing inherent dangers; working shift
work and long hours; and constantly interacting with people who are upset,
angry, or uncooperative all take a toll on individuals. Job-related stress is a major
health concern for the law enforcement community because it can affect the
physical, emotional, and mental well-being of the officers. Stress related
emotional problems such as divorce, suicide, and alcoholism are prevalent in the
law enforcement community. Physically, stress has been linked to cardiovascular
disease, hypertension, lower-back pain, and gastrointestinal disorders. However,
exercise and physical activity have been shown to reduce stress levels and
alleviate some of the pressures officers feel as part of their profession. (Hitch,
2013)
Psychological Health
There are general guidelines to be followed by the PNP to cope with the
job-related stresses and its collateral effects by implementing a Stress
Management Program to distress affected personnel and to make capable those
who will be exposed to the stress while performing their daily duties an ultimately,
make each uniformed and non-uniformed personnel truly of sound mind and
body while performing their tasks. (LOI 32/10 Lusog Kaisipan 2010)

29

There are serious acute and chronic stresses that PNP personnel endure
in order to serve and protect our community. They experience stress from the
moment they live their civilian life and assume the role of law enforcers/officers.
They continue to experience stress as they go through orientation and training
where they are gradually immersed into the police culture. They put their lives on
the line, and confront cruelties and horrors in the streets. There is a difficult,
dangerous and often thankless job. Police Officers are frequently the target of
criticisms and complaints by citizens, the media, the judicial system adversarial
attorneys, their own administrators/superiors and law enforcement agencies.
Failure to cope with stress may manifest as stress signs leading to maladaptive
behavior and poor work performance.
In the United States, two-thirds of officers involved in shootings suffer
moderate or severe problems. Police Officers have one of the highest suicide
rates in the nation possibly the highest. Nationally, twice as many cops-about
three hundred annually commits suicide as are killed in the line of duty according
to a study by the National Association of police Chiefs. (Lewis, 2003). When
Police Officers are not coping well with stress they often abuse alcohol or
substances for comfort. According to a website, entirely devoted to police stress
(www.policestress.com) The stress generated by unresolved marital problems is
a daily corrosive element which drains an officers ability to function effectively.
In an article written by Rodger Ruge for American Police Beat, Ruge
(2012) researched a past study conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Heart Math,

30

a non-profit research and public education organization. The goal of the study, on
stress and policing, was to determine if gaining increased levels of emotional
self-management could potentially benefit police officers. The study, which
involved seven police agencies and sixty-four sworn personnel, concluded that
using stress management techniques was effective in reducing the most
fundamental sources of officers stress. The research incorporates special
significance when considering the following information that provided by the
Heart Math study and previously mentioned:
Police officers are over twice as likely as people in other occupations to
develop cardiovascular disease.
Police officers die at a higher rate from cancer than the general
population.
At the psychological level, the stress of police work may result in
chronic negative emotions such as anger, anxiety or depression, which
can lead to burnout or emotional exhaustion.
California police chiefs report that their greatest concerns include the
liabilities attached to automobile accidents, rapid decision making, citizen
complaints, inappropriate use of force, workers compensation, and the
high post-retirement mortality rates.

31

The study claims shift schedules that disrupt normal sleep patterns and
social life, authoritarian management styles, poor interpersonal relationships with
supervisors, interdepartmental politics, lack of adequate planning and resources,
lack of promotion and transfer opportunities, excessive paperwork, lack of
autonomy in performing duties and lack of recognition for work accomplishments
as the most serious sources of stress for law enforcement officers. However,
along with this bad news is the fact that some agencies that have adopted
wellness programs to combat the negative physical and emotional effects of a
career in law enforcement have done so with positive results. These programs
have helped officers to improve in all aspects of life and give them the tools to
fight back and beat the police lifestyle odds (Ruge, 2012).
Persons who are physically and mentally fit tend to have lower rates of
absenteeism and sick leave utilization. Those employees are also believed to be
more capable of adapting to and performing under stressful situations. Knowing
how your body works and how it reacts to situations when your heart rate and
breathing increase, can mean the difference in making the right or wrong
decision. Police departments that recognize this and that are committed to
achieving the dual objective of reduced absenteeism/sick leave and ability to
accommodate to stressful situations, are much further ahead in the goal of
succeeding as an organization. Failing to achieve these objectives can lead to
increased employment costs, whether through scheduling or additional overtime.
Departments must also recognize that a significant number of personnel will be
placed in circumstances that call for reasonable levels of physical fitness and

32

endurance levels, such as subduing and restraining suspects and handling

various disturbances. Law enforcement, as a profession, is both mentally and
physically demanding. Regardless of the challenges, staying fit on duty can
ultimately mean the difference between going home at the end of the shift or
becoming another statistic for the books. It has been noted that rates of sick
leave are on the rise, as well as the number of stress-related disability claims,
and these need to be reduced. Physical conditioning, as noted in several reports
and studies, has been shown to have positive affects on overall wellness and
needs to be standardized and improved. Physical standards and fitness incentive
programs should be established by all agencies and then studied over a period of
time. These studies should be evaluated on the basis of such factors as
reductions in sick leave utilization compared to previous years, and overtime cost
attributable to absenteeism and sick leave. (Ruge, 2012)
Social Health
Britain's archaic licensing laws demand that public entertainments such as
nightclubs must be licensed, not just for fire and safety as one might reasonably
expect Safety Nazis to demand, but also to serve drink, to play music and to
allow dancing. Why do you need a licence? Because the Safety Nazis want to
make sure that you're safe! Why do the licences only let you dance till a certain
hour? Ask the Safety Nazis. Licences allow music and dancing only until a
certain hour, usually 3.30am in London. Few nightclubs in London are licensed
beyond that hour. In effect there is a state enforced curfew, strictly monitored by

33

the Lifestyle Police. Break the curfew and you lose your licence, putting you out
of business. The whole situation is crazy and without any logic. I have been to
nightclubs in pre-perestroika Moscow that were open all hours. I know of
nowhere else in the world - except Ireland - that has more restrictive licensing
laws, and in Ireland nobody pays the law any attention. If ever there was an area
crying out for Thatcherite deregulation it's the archaic system for the licensing of
music and dancing. (Cameron, Rodney V., 2011)
Fortunately over the years illicit underground warehouse parties have
developed to cater for those people who quite reasonably like to party all night
despite the law. People would set up a sound system in an empty warehouse
and hold a party. If you were in the know you could turn up, pay cash at the door,
and party till the next day in the company of a few hundred other party-goers.
Drinks would be sold off the back of a van from crates. A little rough and ready,
but fun. Then in late 1987 and early 1988 a new style of music became popular
in Ibiza, the sunny holiday hideaway isle for London's avant garde. The music
was energetic and people liked to dance to it all night under the influence of a
new designer-drug called Ecstasy. The loose Ibiza lifestyle encouraged parties
that lasted for days, and if you were reasonably fit, took the right drugs and
refrained from alcohol, you could dance around the clock. Ibiza, you will
understand, does not have licensing laws or Life-style Police. When the holiday
was over, so was the party. Some of the more enterprising party people decided
that they could recreate the atmosphere by holding warehouse parties. As
London's party culture absorbed Ecstasy, the demand for underground

34

warehouse parties grew, hundreds of people wanted to do the new wonder drug
and dance all night. If you could not get any Ecstasy then some old fashioned
acid would do. Amongst the enthusiastic crowd who went to the parties was a
young man called Tony Colston-Hayter. An imaginative, entrepreneurial
technocrat with a relaxed attitude to legal formalities, he revolutionized the
scene. He thought big. Instead of using dark, dodgy warehouses in London's
docklands catering for a few hundred party-goers, why not organize parties for
thousands of people in bigger venues? How he did it provides a fine illustration of
free enterprise's ability to innovate by taking advantage of technological
developments. The parties were attracting the attention of the police, who would
raid them and close them down as soon as they found out the location, unless
the party was already in full swing, in which case they just turned people away
rather than precipitate a riot. Colston-Hayter reasoned that if he could get the
people to the location in large numbers before the police arrived, the party would
be unstoppable. He made use of a system called TVAR - Telephone Venue
Address Releasing. The system worked as follows. During the day a production
team would set up the venue, which could be a large warehouse or even an
aircraft hangar. In total secrecy generators, sound systems, lighting, lasers, crash
barriers, fire extinguishers, portaloos, merchandising stalls, food stands, soft
drink stands and even a first aid room would be set up. At a given time ColstonHayter would use his cell phone to call a computer which would digitally record
his spoken directions to a meeting point, usually somewhere on the M25 orbital

35

motorway which circles London. The computerized system was linked to

hundreds of phone lines. (Cameron, 2011)
Lifestyle
Richmond et. al as cited by School of Community Medicine, University of
New South Wales, Australia (2014) conducted a survey on how healthy are the
policemen by assessing lifestyle factors which aims to examine the prevalence of
five life-style behaviors among New South Wales police. A cross-sectional survey
using a self-administered questionnaire to 852 policemen revealed that a high
level (89%) of participation was achieved in the survey. Almost half (48%) of
males and more than two-fifths (40%) of females consumed alcohol excessively
including continuous hazardous or harmful consumption and binge drinking.
Excessive drinking was more prevalent among younger police. There were 8% of
male and 15% of female police who reported that they did not drink alcohol. Over
one-quarter (27%) of male and one-third (32%) of female respondents reported
smoking. Almost half (46%) of men and women (47%) believed that they were
overweight. More than one-fifth (21%) of men and less than one-quarter (24%) of
women reported that they did not exercise. Finally, 12% of men and 15% of
women reported feeling moderate to severe symptoms of stress. It came with a
conclusion that the police work-force offers an opportunity to screen for a large
number of healthy, young and high risk individuals (particularly men) who are
hard to reach in other settings and who rarely visit their general practitioner. A
sizeable majority (83%) of NSW police had at least one unhealthy life-style
behavior with 19% reporting 3-5 unhealthy factors. The high prevalence of

36

excessive alcohol consumption among police is of particular concern. More

active health promotion and provision of brief interventions among police may
reduce morbidity and mortality associated with unhealthy life-styles. (Cameron,
2011)
According to John Violanti, Ph.D (2013) on top of putting their personal
safety on the line every day, police officers also face mental stressors and other
effects of the job that could be putting their health at risk, according to a new
study. Researchers at the University of Buffalo examined the mental and physical
health of members of the Buffalo Police Department in New York over a five-year
period, to identify conditions for which police officers may have a higher risk.
CBC News reported that 464 police officers participated in the study. For one, the
researchers found that almost half of the officers in the study work the night shift
(a significantly higher percentage than the rest of the U.S. population, of which 9
percent does shift work).The researchers found that the shift work was linked
with an increased risk of metabolic syndrome. The condition is comprised of a
group of conditions, including excess body fat, high cholesterol and increase
blood pressure or blood sugar levels, according to the Mayo Clinic.
As cited by Amanda L. Chan (2014) Another group of researchers found
that 40 percent of police officers were obese in the study - higher than the 32
percent estimated to be obese in the U.S. population. And 25 percent of officers
had metabolic syndrome -- higher than the 18.7 percent estimated to have the
syndrome in the U.S. population. Sleep problems seemed to be linked with job

37

stress, too. Researchers found that police officers who said they were the most
stressed out were also more likely to sleep poorly. For female police officers,
poor sleep was four times more likely; for male officers, it was six times more
likely. Researchers also found a link between working for more than 30 years as
a police officer and developing brain cancer or Hodgkin's lymphoma. And current
work as a police officer was linked with an eight times increased risk of suicide,
compared with past work as a police officer, researchers found. Proper
recognition of stress (and understanding how to treat it) is important in helping
police officers to maintain their health while on the job, researchers said. "If I tell
you that the first time you see a dead body or an abused child that it is normal to
have feelings of stress, you will be better able to deal with them; exposure to this
type of training inoculates you so that when it does happen, you will be better
prepared. At the same time, middle and upper management in police
departments need to be trained in how to accept officers who ask for help and
how to make sure that officers are not afraid to ask for that help. Previous
research from Violanti has also shown links between the type of shift work and
suicide risk among police officers. That small study, which included 115 police
officers, showed that female police officers were more likely to have depression
or ideas of suicide if they worked the day shift, while male police officers were
more likely to have these feelings if they worked afternoons or nights. It's
possible women may feel more uneasy and stressed in a daytime shift, where
there can be more opportunity for conflict and a negative environment. On the
other hand, higher suicide ideation reported by males on the midnight shift may

38

be accounted for in part by a stronger need to be part of the social cohesiveness

associated with peers in the police organization. Working alone at night without
the support of immediate backup can be stressful. Police officers aren't the only
ones in public safety who may face added health risks. Past studies have also
shown that firefighters may be more likely to develop testicular, prostate, nonHodgkin's lymphoma and multiple myeloma cancers, compared with other
people, Medical News Today reported.
Singapore Police Force as cited in 2013, related to Police Healthy
Lifestyle states that, SPF recognises and approaches the terms 'health' and
'fitness' from a holistic platform and that being healthy and fit physically will have
an effect in the other health variables such as emotionally and mentally as well.
Thus, SPF places great emphasis on its officers living and leading a healthy and
active lifestyle.In most unit in SPF, there are gyms available for usage before,
during and after working hours. Here, officers are able to access cardio machines
such as treadmills, cross-trainers and rowing machines with a wide variety of
dumbbells, barbells and other exercise equipments for resistance routines and
muscle building. In addition to that, there are sports hall to accommodate various
activities such as badminton, sepak takraw, table tennis and even court soccer!
PF also fosters healthy lifestyle via Active Day conducted once a month or every
few weeks. During the event, the unit gathers together to go for a run, jog or brisk
walk at places such as Labrador Park, MacRitchie Reservoir, Marina Bay and
other scenic locations. Most often, team bonding or other fun activities such as
boxercise and yoga are also conducted as well thus enhancing camaraderie

39

amongst the officers. As a uniformed organization, SPF is also heavily involved in

sporting competitions with other organizations or agencies be it locally or even
internationally. Therefore, sporting competitions between units are often
conducted every year for almost all the sports played in Singapore. This initiative
was taken to not only source out for talents but to harness the competitive spirit
in the officers too. By being actively involved in sports, officers are able to
maintain their interest in keeping themselves fit and healthy in order to do and
perform well in their own respective chosen fields. Currently, there are the
competitions conducted by the Police Sports Association (PSA), Home United
Sports and Recreation Association (HUSRA) to the smaller based ones
conducted at the inter-unit or inter-troop level. (Singapore Police, 2013)
Blum relates that heart disease is directly related to lifestyle wellness
behaviors and it has become one of the number one killers of adult men and
women, surpassing all types of cancer. Furthermore, more than 2000 officers
have heart attacks and die each year in the line of duty. This final statistic should
appear shocking when approximately one hundred officers die each year at the
hands of suspects.
A lifestyle typically reflects an individual's attitudes, values or world view.
Therefore, a lifestyle is a means of forging a sense of self and to create
cultural symbols that resonate with personal identity. Not all aspects of a lifestyle
are voluntary. Surrounding social and technical systems can constrain the
lifestyle choices available to the individual and the symbols she/he is able to

40

project to others and the self. The lines between personal identity and the
everyday doings that signal a particular lifestyle become blurred in modern
society. For example, "green lifestyle" means holding beliefs and engaging in
activities that consume fewer resources and produce less harmful waste (i.e. a
smaller ecological footprint), and deriving a sense of self from holding these
beliefs and engaging in these activities. Some commentators, argue that,
in modernity, the cornerstone of lifestyle construction is consumption behavior,
which offers the possibility to create and further individualize the self with
different products or services that signal different ways of life. ]Lifestyle may
include views on politics, religion, health, intimacy, and more. All of these aspects
play

role

in

shaping

someone's

lifestyle. In

the magazine and television industries, "lifestyle" is used to describe a category

of publications or programs. An individual's health depends a lot on their lifestyle.
Maintaining physical and mental health are crucial to an individual's longevity.
The more time spent on hygiene, physical fitness, and diet regulation, the
healthier lifestyle they have. Those who chose to participate in any kind of
physical activity on a weekly basis are generally healthier than those who don't.
Mental illness may occur through various variables. For example, depression
may promote mental illness through stress and anxiety. Reasons for being
depressed can be due to a number of things including job loss, recently widowed,
divorce, etc. Depression may lead to or increase the frequency of poor habits not
promoting physical health. Poor habits may eventually lead to a poor or even

41

dangerous lifestyle. More interestingly, a healthy or unhealthy lifestyle will most

likely be transmitted across generations. (Chan, 2014)
Work Attitude
Police Officers generally carry out their sworn duties and responsibilities
with dedication and valor, but some stresses are too much to take, and every
officers has a breaking point.
Presently, with the Integrated Transformation Program (ITP) and the LEAD
PNP Program, The PNP Committee on Enhancing Gender-Responsiveness
Program (CEGRP) was crafted in 2009 with the Directorate for Police Community
Relations as the Office Primarily Responsible (OPR) for gender equality policy,
advocacy, programs and activities to its mainstreaming in the PNP. It further put
to tasks the health service as the office who shall Head the Sub-Committee on
stress management program and perform such activities towards its realization.
As such, DPCR will be supporting the health service in strengthening and
institutionalizing its Stress Management Program being undertaken by its NeuroPsychiatric Section (Allied Services Division) and Regional Psychologist of the
Regional Health Service in the PROs.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB), an international financial institution
with its Technical Assistance Supporting the Governance in Justice Sector
Reform Program on Gender Responsive Skill Development in the PNP, has been
helping the CEGRP with its Technical Assistance (TAs) in enhancing GAD
programs/projects/activities with an end view of making the PNP a more gender

42

responsive organization while performing its primary function To serve and

Protect.
The Police Workforce ultimately, the expected goal is to reduce costs by
building a healthier work force, by reducing injuries and sick leave, as well as
increasing overall departmental morale. A healthy officer, not only feels and
performs better, but also passes on that positive image to their fellow officers and
the citizens of the community they serve. Officers who are not fit place
themselves and their colleagues in jeopardy. It is a fact that you have to be a
physical person in all aspects of law enforcement and that includes the
administrative staff that has not been out in a squad car for ten or more years.
The employer, along with union representatives, should establish standards of
physical fitness and agility. Standards shall be related to the superior job
performance which employees may reasonably be expected to provide.
Performance tests to determine whether employees meet or exceed such
physical fitness and agility standards should be conducted by the agency. The
employer, along with the bargaining units, should determine what type of
incentives to develop. In the studies cited, it appears the most difficult roadblock
for law enforcement trainers is changing individual behavior. Studies by the
Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in Dallas, Texas, suggests that
approximately seventy percent of persons who begin exercise programs quit
within one year. There is inadequate time, even for highly skilled trainers, to
properly undo, modify, or alter personal habits that have formed over several

43

years. Barriers to long-term fitness and wellness adherence rates are numerous.
(Miller, 2012)
The process of changing fitness related behavior is a lifelong one that
requires continuous reinforcement and monitoring. Unfortunately, many law
enforcement agencies do not devote enough time and energy, or allocate the
resources needed to implement regular fitness or wellness programs after basic
training. Our training programs today implement real life scenarios and situations
for practical and memorable training experience. It seems that this idea is looked
over when it comes to physical fitness programs and training. By simply stating
that it is important to live a healthy lifestyle and why it is important to do so, does
not get the message across, as it should. Programs and routines must be
developed that correspond with the facts that are being relayed. Just as with all
other law enforcement training, programs must be target specific and relevant to
the student.

The first step to changing behavior is to increase individual

knowledge. The importance needs to be illustrated by lectures, demonstrations,

and participation by the student. These lessons need to illustrate the importance,
relationship and relevance of fitness to law enforcement personnel. Correlations
between motor skills vs. heart rates, muscular endurance/strength vs. defensive
tactics, and flexibility vs. injury prevention are powerful foundation points. (Blum
2010)
The supervisors role is very important when it comes to implementing
physical fitness as a lifestyle. A command officer can direct their squad to look

44

closer at their fitness levels and motivate them in helping improve their work
performance and overall quality of life. A supervisor with the will to implement a
fitness program has a better chance of earning the support of the Chief. The
earning of administrative support has many benefits, such as on-duty time to
exercise. There is not much better incentive than allowing the officers time to
exercise while being paid. If that is not an option, than perhaps look at giving an
hour of compensatory time for each workout done on the officers own time. This
may be accomplished by making it mandatory that another officer witness the
workout, thus having the officers working out together. This has the added
benefits of having the officers build peer support and trust for each other. It also
provides spotters while training, which decreases the risk of injury. If the
administration does not support giving fitness incentives, then it may be up to the
supervisor to motivate the troops on his or her own. By offering to workout with
the officers or arranging sporting events and runs, can all lead to an increase in
physical fitness awareness and motivation. A supervisor also has the ability to
coordinate and structure in-house training programs, which can include any
number of things that would encourage overall fitness. A supervisor may also
have better luck in talking to any of the department members who refuse to take
part in the fitness activities. Short discussions from time to time of the benefits of
physical fitness, or the dangers of smoking or poor eating habits, could all prove
positive. Some reasons for not exercising are more valid than others, but should
be the responsibility of the supervisor to help them see that they must engage in
some activity to help themselves. By helping them see the value of a regular

45

exercise program and showing that you truly care about them and their health,
hopefully they will decide to take time out of their busy schedule and begin living
a healthier lifestyle. The Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research (CIAR) has
worked with fitness programs in law enforcement, public safety, and military since
1976. Over the years, the CIAR has considered this work as part of their mission
to help shape and influence fitness programs throughout the nation. The Institute
considers fitness in law enforcement a necessity for the following reasons:
1. It relates to the ability of officers to perform essential functions of the
job.
2. It relates to minimizing the risk of excessive force situations.
3. It relates to minimizing the known health risks associated with the job.
4. It relates to meeting many legal requirements to avoid litigation and
have a
defensible position if challenged in court.
The Institute recognized the concerns of administrators when determining
whether to implement a fitness policy or program at their organization. Current
legislation constitutes fitness tests, standards and programs be valid and
defensible. To be valid and defensible, they must be job related and scientifically
valid. There is obvious legal concern about liability and negligence. Agencies
delivering the fitness tests or programs must be concerned about safety. They

46

must document in writing the policies and procedures that meet the standard of
ordinary care by following set guidelines. Another area of concern revolves
around the liability of an agency for not having tests, standards and programs. An
agency that does not address the fitness requirements and needs of officers is
susceptible to litigation for:
Negligent hiring of applicants who are fit to do the job.
Negligent training of recruits and incumbents so that they are physically
capable of doing the job.
Negligent supervision of incumbents to ensure that they can meet the
physical demands of the job.
Negligent retention of officers who cannot meet the physical demands of
the job.
Perhaps the focus of departmental programs should be to simply establish
the wellness culture in their organizations, making officers want to participate
instead of forcing them to. Constantly adhering to healthy behavior and a healthy
lifestyle may pay greater dividends than testing specific fitness components once
or twice a year. The wellness culture requires support throughout an organization
and officers should be exposed daily to the message that the benefits of a
healthy lifestyle has to offer. It should not matter if a program is mandatory or
voluntary. What matters is health and fitness. Having a complete, on-going
physical fitness program or wellness culture in place assures that personnel will
be more productive, while reducing complaints, injuries, and absenteeism.
Whether an organization decides to implement mandated physical fitness testing
and policies or promotes a supportive, unregulated healthy environment does not
necessarily matter. What matters is the fact that it is the responsibility of the

47

administrators that officers have every advantage possible, including the best
training, equipment, and physical conditioning. By adopting physical fitness as a
necessary and mandated part of training, every organization will clearly see the
many benefits it has to offer. The leaders of our organizations can no longer
ignore the facts. It should not be surprising that physical fitness and exercise
improve long-term health. Studies have shown that sedentary people have twice
the risk of coronary artery disease than active people as well as a higher risk of
stroke, colon cancer, and back injuries. Only 22 percent of U.S. adults get at
least 30 minutes of light to moderate exercise five or more times a week, and
less than 10 percent exercise vigorously at least three times a week. More than
50 percent of deaths in the United States are attributable to these and other
lifestyle choices. (Copper, 2012)
Police job tends to be regarded as inherently stressful because of
personnel risk of exposure to confrontations and violence and day to day
involvement in a variety of traumatic incidents. As a result high levels of stress
related disorders may be prevalent in this population. Increased demands of
work impinging upon home life, lack of consultation and communication with the
higher authorities in the organization, lack of control over workload, inadequate
support have been identified as the potential factors responsible for the stress in
the policemen. On an average policemen work twelve hours everyday and often
put in 36 hours at a stretch during VIP bandobasts and festivals. Unlike other
jobs, the policemen start the day with bad news. There is only negative feedback
in terms of how many murders, robberies and rapes had taken place the previous
night. Working throughout the day in such an atmosphere produces adverse

48

psychological effects. Moreover long working hours, irregular eating habits,

sleepless nights, shift duties and disturbed personnel life produces stress in the
policemens life and they become vulnerable to various disorders. To alleviate the
stress the policemen tend to stick to the unhealthy habits like drinking liquor or
chewing tobacco and suffer from many adverse effects of these habits. Unable to
cope up the stressful condition, some of them also commit suicide.Various
studies have reported significantly high prevalence of stress related disorders like
hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease among the policemen and
found police occupation as a prominent risk factor for coronary heart disease.
(Richmond, 2011)
Pyorala et al (2011) in 22 year follow-up study on Helsinki policemen found
coronary heart disease as a major cause of mortality among policemen.
He found high prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle factors like excessive alcohol
consumption, tobacco use and no leisure time physical exercises among the
policemen. The present study was conducted in order to determine the
prevalence of hypertension among the policemen and to study the risk factors
associated with hypertension in the policemen. A cross sectional study was
conducted on 520 randomly selected constables and head constables from a
total of 5256 Maharashtra state police of Nagpur in the year 2003. Sample size of
493 was calculated assuming 15% prevalence of hypertension with worst
accepted prevalence of +/-3% at 95% confidence level. Clinical examinations
including the anthropometric examination of the study subjects were carried out.
History of present illness, past history, personnel history and family history was
obtained using predesigned performance. Blood pressure was measured by

49

mercury sphygmomanometer in sitting position. Systolic blood pressure >

160mm and/ or diastolic blood pressure > 95mm of mercury or subject on antihypertensive treatment was regarded as the criteria for diagnosis of
hypertension. Subjects with body mass index (BMI)

30 kg/m2 were regarded as

obese, 25.029.9 as overweight and with BMI 18.524.9 as normal. Leisure time
physical activity > 30 minutes a day and for at least 3 days in a week was
supposed as the regular physical activity. Subjects who have smoked regularly
and smoked at least one cigarette on an average each day during previous 30
days were defined as the current smokers. Subjects currently consuming alcohol
or left this habit within 6 months were considered as alcoholics. Quantitative
grading of alcohol consumption was not done. The present study revealed 22.5%
hypertension prevalence among the policemen of Nagpur, which is higher than
that found in many recently conducted studies in India on general urban
population on similar age group. These studies reported hypertension prevalence
of 15.52% in Mumbai, 14.08% in Ludhiana, 10.99% in Jaipur, 11.59% in Delhi
and 13.11% in Chandigarh. In Nagpur, Athawale et al (2011) reported 8.4%
prevalence of hypertension among municipal employees. Younger policemen of
18-27 years of age were found to be free from hypertension as majority of them
were newly appointed policemen. They have to pass through various physical
(athletic) tests and medical examination and only absolutely fit candidates are
appointed as policemen. Prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in
policemen of 48-58 years of age. This suggests that the policemen join the police
department in extremely good health with athletic physique but retire with some

50

stress related disorders. Prevalence of overweight/obesity (43.08%), tobacco use

(54.42%) and alcohol consumption (28.27%) was higher in policemen as
compared to general employees observed in other studies. Athawale et al
(2011) reported prevalence of overweight/obesity 23%, tobacco use 45.95 and

alcohol consumption 25.6% among the general employees of Nagpur Municipal

Corporation. As these factors were found to be significantly associated with
hypertension, high prevalence of hypertension among policemen can be
attributed to high prevalence of these factors among them. Length of police
service was significantly and independently associated with the prevalence of
hypertension and its association was not entirely mediated by other factors. This
indicates that as the duration of police service is increased the risk of
hypertension is increased is increased even in the absence of other risk factors
except the level of stress which was not studied and hence could not be
adjusted. This shows that a policemens job may be a stressful job responsible
for increased risk of hypertension among the policemen. As the seniority of
policemen increases more and more responsibilities are posed on them. Burden
of these job responsibilities in addition to increased family responsibilities
perhaps increases the level of stress resulting in higher risk of hypertension
among the policemen of > 10 years of service as compared to their other
counterparts. This study found no significant role of education as an independent
protective factor against hypertension in policemen suggesting that the
policemen with high as well as low level of education bear equal risk of
hypertension. However on crude analysis policemen of > 10 years of education

51

found to have significantly low risk of hypertension as compared as compared to

those of < 10 years of education. This may be due to clustering of unhealthy
habits like tobacco use and alcohol consumption among those with low level of
education as on adjustment with these factors, no significant difference was
found in the risk of hypertension between the policemen of high and low level of
education. However other studies on general population found education as a
significant independent protective factor against hypertension. Similarly leisure
time physical activity had no significant protective effect against hypertension in
the policemen. Protective effect of both education and physical activity was
probably neutralized by stressful police job. Some of the subjects particularly the
older policemen were not aware about the cause of death of their parents or
other blood relatives. They were not certain whether coronary heart disease or
stroke was due to hypertension, diabetes or due to other factors. Hence to avoid
the bias, family history of hypertension was not included in the analysis.
However, if distribution of family history of hypertension is assumed uniform,
possibility of adjusted risk of hypertension associated with length of police
service being over or under estimated can be very well ruled out. Dietary habits,
level of stress and types of police duties most commonly associated with the
stress were also not studied. In spite of these limitations, this study succeeded in
finding out potential risk factors prominently associated with the high prevalence
of hypertension among the policemen. This study also gives a clue that police job
itself may cause stress related disorders in the policemen. However, further
studies are needed to identify which types of police duties in the Indian scenario

52

are associated more significantly with the stress or stress related disorders
among the policemen.
Personal Routine
According to Santos (2012), regular physical activity helps to prevent
coronary heart disease and assists with weight control. Weight training and
strength exercises build muscles and endurance and enhance flexibility, thus
protecting the body from injury and disability. Consistent physical activity has also
been shown to reduce blood pressure, blood lipids, and glucose tolerance, thus
helping to prevent hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes. Expending at least
2,000 calories a week in physical activity reduces an individuals risk of dying of
any cause by 28 percent. Mortality rates for unfit men were estimated at 64 per
10,000 persons. However, that number drops to 18.6 per 10,000 persons when
looking at those that are most fit. Being physically fit translates into fewer sick
days, disabilities, and injuriesthereby reducing health-care costs. In recent
years, there has been a reduction in the health and fitness of law enforcement
officers across the Philippines. This lack of fitness makes officers prone to onduty injuries and illnesses, increases their exposure to liability, and engenders a
loss of respect from the community based on their appearance.
Another study was conducted by Lifestyle Police in London, it was stated
that the populist pro-government newspapers would launch a propaganda
campaign against what it would call evil dance party organizers. The progovernment press would conduct a hysterical smear campaign, describing the

53

party organizers as criminals. In order to combat the subversive profiteering freemarket dance party entrepreneurs the state would form Lifestyle Police. Using
undercover agents they would infiltrate the parties, discover where they were to
take place and then, using helicopters and road-blocks, they would try to prevent
the parties going ahead, by turning away thousands of dissident party-goers and
arresting the organizers. This is truly a regime of which Stalin or Hitler himself
would be proud, implementing socialist policies to protect the citizens from their
own moral weakness. If you think this is hyperbole. "Police fear Acid House boom
in spring. This reports "a combined intelligence unit drawn from twelve police
forces, the Home Office's most powerful computer system, sophisticated radio
scanners, monitoring of underground magazines, light aircraft, helicopters,
roadblocks and arbitrary arrests." These are surely the hallmarks of a totalitarian
state.
Sadly the above is not a fantasy, it is based on reality. In Britain in 1990 all
this happened, not under a Communist regime, but under an increasingly
authoritarian Conservative government. What the tabloid press called the Acid
House Party generated a momentum for yet more restrictions on our civil
liberties. This is another example of the Lifestyle Police in action, but the Lifestyle
Police are not the police in uniform, they are the conservative, intolerant bigots
who demand uniformity. The Lifestyle Police and lifestyle policies are supported
by comfortable suburbia and the reactionary readers of the Daily Express. For
them different means dangerous. They truly believe that they represent decent
values when in fact they have narrow intolerant values. The Lifestyle Police have

54

infiltrated almost every aspect of our culture. They are the foot soldiers of
organizations like the National Viewers and Listeners Association; Mary
Whitehouse is the Lifestyle Policewoman par excellence. The Lifestyle Police are
controlled by members of a powerful but little known clandestine entries political
party known as the Safety Nazis. They are politically active in the Conservative
Party and the Green Party. In America the Safety Nazis' greatest political success
was the Prohibition Act. Only the valiant actions of the Mafia managed to save
America by machine gunning leading Safety Nazis. Safety Nazis want to ban
things: video nastiest, cigarettes, drink, drugs, loud music, pornography, toy
guns, real guns, artificial additives, swear words on TV, fast cars, unusual sexual
practices, dancing around Stonehenge on the solstice and Acid House parties.
They also make you do things for your own good, like wear a seat belt and watch
public information films. Overt Safety Nazis are active in the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Accidents, the Health and Safety Executive, the Health Education
Authority, Alcohol Concern and Action on Smoking and Health.
The police and the authorities became tired of being outwitted and
resorted to roadblocks, bugging phones, harassing organizers and mass
detentions - at one party 836 people - only 12 of whom were charged - were
detained overnight at 30 police stations. The tabloid newspapers waged a
hysterical scare campaign, branding party organizers as evil drug pushers who
were poisoning Britain's youth. A special police unit was set up to deal with the
parties and undercover police were used. The police pressurized the phone
companies into preventing organizers using the TVAR system. Pirate (i.e. free

55

market) radio stations which broadcast party location information were raided
and shut down. Civil liberties were crushed in order to stop young people
committing the heinous crime of dancing all night without a license. If that was
not enough a draconian new law was introduced in July 1990 which meant that
party organizers could face up to six months in prison and confiscation of all
profits. It was at this point that I decided to get out of the business.
Establishing Fitness and Wellness Programs

Due to the alarming health data and the steady decline in the wellness of
U.S. citizens, a task force was created by various law enforcement organizations
to establish a model health and fitness program that would be voluntary.
Unfortunately, even with a large publicity campaign, the program was not
supported by the majority of law enforcement agencies across the country. The
state of North Carolina was one of the few jurisdictions that recognized the dire
need for intervention in the area of health and fitness and approved funding for
seven agencies to participate in a pilot study. The data show improvements
across the board in overall fitness. Significant cardiovascular and strength
improvements were noted, and several participants were even able to stop taking
medication for diabetes and hypertension because of their weight loss. The
participating agencies reported a 25 percent increase in productivity through a
variety of factors: reduced absenteeism, reduced turnover rate, reduced
accidents, and reduced workers compensation claims. Research has shown that

56

for every one dollar invested into fitness and wellness programs, the return
ranges from two to five dollars.
A total fitness and wellness program provides benefits to participants as
well as to the agency that establishes such a program. Officers stand to profit
from an improved ability to perform job functions, reduced stress, and better
physical and psychological preparation. Agencies stand to benefit in terms of
efficiency as well as fiscally. Officers are less likely to be injured or retire on
disability, thus reducing the costs of disability payments and the hiring and
training of new employees. Studies analyzing the civilian workforce show that
active employees demonstrated greater productivity. Based on this theory, the
performance ratings of fit and unfit officers were examined, and it was learned
that the more fit and active officers received higher ratings on their performance
evaluations than their less fit and inactive peers. In addition to this, officers that
are more fit and active have 4070 percent less absenteeism than less-fit
officers. Agencies that utilize proactive fitness and wellness programs are
considered preferred risks by state municipal league self-insured pooling
organizations, and incentive programs have been established to encourage more
participation. By implementing an exercise program, agencies also reduce their
liability by ensuring that officers are prepared to handle tasks while controlling the
possible risks and their associated costs. Failure to provide fitness and wellness
training can open an agency to unnecessary liability, especially in cases alleging
excessive force. A total fitness program incorporates the development of good
lifestyle habits, including regular exercise, good nutrition, weight management,

57

stress management, and substance abuse prevention. Such a program must be

supported by an agencys administrators for it to be successful. Fitness and
health programs are believed to increase employee loyalty, improve morale, and
decrease turnover. More importantly, employees benefit from improved quality of
life and health while reducing employee related accidents, injuries, and illnesses,
thus reducing operating costs. There is a recent trend within the law enforcement
community to recognize the importance of fitness as it relates to job
performance, officer safety, and wellness. Several agencies have initiated
incentive programs for officers to encourage participation and improve health.
There has been a long-standing belief that deaths in the line of duty are
unacceptable, and law enforcement professionals have done everything they can
to reduce them. This philosophy should also extend to officer injuries. Law
enforcement leaders cannot accept the proposition that accidents or injuries are
a reality of the law enforcement profession. The only acceptable belief is zero
officers killed or injured. Studies have shown repeatedly that physical fitness has
a direct impact on reducing injuries and improving personal well-being as well as
work performance. There needs to be a national push to increase the
development and participation in fitness and health programs by law enforcement
agencies to protect officers and save lives.

Mandatory Physical Fitness among Policemen

Policing

is

an

important

function

of

local

and

national

governments throughout the world. All nations strive to provide their

58

citizens with the most effective policing within the constraints of

budgets and legal mandates. Police officer fitness has been an issue
for police departments as far back as the Sir Robert Peels Bobbies and
the London Metropolitan Police Department which was established in
1829 by a Parliamentary act (Summerscale, 2008).
Police officer fitness is not restricted to United States police
departments. Senior Superintendent Lindela Mashigo of the Pretoria,
South Africa Police Department recently started running, inspired by
his police commissioner, Bheki Cele, who he describes as a fitness
fanatic. Cele launched the SA Police Service (SAPS) fitness and
wellness programme, which hopes to encourage the countrys tubby
police officers to fight the flab by keeping physically fit through
exercise and by following a healthy diet (Bega, 2010).
Superintendent Brett Pointing of the Queensland, Australia Police
Department boasts of his completion of the FBI National Academys
Yellow Brick Roada notoriously difficult US Marine Corp obstacle
course that is considered one of the toughest in existence. The higher
level of fitness helps the police executive cope with their workload, and
we learned about nutrition, diet and the metabolism,(Wilson, 2005,
p.48) said a leaner police officer who has now become a 10 km runner
and will compete in this years Gold Coast Marathon. The London
Metropolitan Police, the oldest police department in the world, has
become exceptionally tough on unhealthy police officers. Fat or

59

unhealthy police officers could be forced to resign. One idea is to have

officers take a fitness test every 3 years. If they fail, they would be
placed on unpaid administrative leave until they increase fitness levels
and pass the fitness test and change their lifestyle. If there were still
no sign of improvement, they could be forced to resign. Figures
released by the London Metropolitan Police Department in early 2003
show that the London Metropolitan Police take nearly twice the number
of sick days as the average City of London private sector worker. This
results in nearly 1.5 million police working days being lost annually
(Taylor, 2013).
In Ontario Province, Canada, all police officers must meet annual
fitness standards. Owen Sound City police constable, Brian Dunham,
stated, You dont have to be a runner to be a police officer, but if
youre not in fairly good shape you run a real risk of hurting yourself
and maybe having a heart attack (Algie, 2011
The National Police of one Asian country set up a six-month
fitness campaign for its
113,000 members. The most notable feature of the campaign was to
reduce the waistline of police officers to a maximum of 36 inches.
Twice per week the officers were required to do aerobic exercises,
timed jogs, push-ups and pull-ups. There were regular commandsponsored mass exercises and ballroom dancing (Siruno, 2010).

60

Dr. Kota Reddy, a cardiologist in Houston, Texas, offers free cardiac

screenings to police officers in the Sugar Land and Missouri City public safety
departments. An interventional cardiologist, Reddy has long been aware that
heart disease is rampant in public safety occupations. Stress, poor diets and
work environments that mix sedentary hours with sudden intense physical activity
make police officers significantly more vulnerable. He cites studies that show
heart disease causes 45 percent of on-duty firefighter deaths and 22 percent of
police officer deaths (Hastings, 2012).
Quire and Blounts 1990 study of 380 sworn police officers of the St.
Petersburg, Florida Police Department found that older officers were at greater
risk of coronary heart disease than younger officers. Nevertheless, based on
Center for Disease Control standards, St. Petersburg police officers were at very
low risk levels and had significantly reduced their risk level over a period of 5
years from 1981-1985. This reduction was attributed to a concentrated effort on
the part of the department, and in particular completes physical examinations,
that contained the cholesterol screen and the resultant discussion of risk profiles,
and a fitness program that contained exercise and diet recommendations. Diet
and exercise must go together. The combination maximizes the level of fitness
and stored energy in ones body. Mark Farmer is a Lieutenant with the Aiken,
South Carolina Public Safety Department. He is also a certified physical fitness
coordinator through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC).
Farmer discusses the need for police officers to stay in shape by engaging in
regular exercises and maintaining a balanced nutrition and diet by having the

61

right amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. Physical exercise and diet
must be done together. Think of it as a positive and negative on a battery. If one
end is not connected, you have no power. He states there are a total of 25
amino acids which, when put together in different combinations, make different
kinds of protein that you need to form
your cells and organs. Eight of these amino acids are called essentialand from
these your body can make the remaining 17. These proteins can be found in
chicken, tuna, black beans, fish, and red meat. He admonishes against frying!
Frying not only takes away a large amount of the good stuff, but it also adds
saturated fat. Saturated fat is to be avoided as much as possible in ones diet.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, diets high in saturated fat
have been linked to chronic disease, specifically, coronary heart disease. The
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 recommend consuming less than 10% of
daily calories as saturated fat. In general, saturated fat can be found in the
following foods: high-fat cheeses, high-fat cuts of meat, whole-fat milk and
cream, butter, ice cream and ice cream products, and palm and coconut oils.
(Centers for Disease Control, 2011)

Appointment, Litigation, Termination of Police Officers, and Police Union

Resistance
Section 15 to 17 of RA 8551 states that (Section 15. Waivers for Initial
Appointments to the PNP) the age, height, weight, and educational requirements
for initial appointment to the PNP may be waived only when the number of

62

qualified applicants fall below the minimum annual quota: Provided, That an
applicant shall not be below twenty (20) nor over thirty-five (35) years of age:
Provided, further, That any applicant not meeting the weight requirement shall be
given reasonable time but not exceeding six (6) months within which to comply
with the said requirement: Provided, furthermore, That only applicants who have
finished second year college or have earned at least seventy-two (72) collegiate
units leading to a bachelor's decree shall be eligible for appointment: Provided,
furthermore, That anybody who will enter the service without a baccalaureate
degree shall be given a maximum of four (4) years to obtain the required
educational qualification: Provided, finally, That a waiver for height requirement
shall be automatically granted to applicants belonging to the cultural
communities.(Section 16. Selection Criteria Under the Waiver Program) The
selection of applicants under the Waiver Program shall be subject to the following
minimum criteria: (a) Applicants who possess the least disqualification shall take
precedence over those who possess more disqualifications.(b) The requirements
shall be waived in the following order: (a) age, (b) height, (c) weight, and (d)
education. The Commission shall promulgate rules and regulations to address
other situations arising from the waiver of the entry requirements. (Section
17. Nature of Appointment under a Waiver Program) Any PNP uniformed
personnel who is admitted due to the waiver of the educational or weight
requirements shall be issued a temporary appointment pending the satisfaction
of the requirement waived. Any member who will fail to satisfy any of the waived

63

requirements within the specified time periods under Section 13 of this Act shall
be dismissed from the service.
The legality of terminating police officers based on departmental fitness
standards hinges on the courts interpretation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of
1964. Title VII prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion,
sex and national origin. With regard to fitness standards, one issue of concern
has been holding female officers to the same standard as male officers. The U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania handed down a decision in
1998. In 1991, as a part of an effort to upgrade its 234 officer police force, the
Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) which operates a
commuter rail system in Philadelphia and its suburbs, instituted a series of
physical fitness requirements for both on-board and potential police officers.
Among these was a requirement that applicants complete a 1.5 mile run in 12
minutes. Failure to meet this standard disqualified an applicant from employment
as a police officer (Brooks, 2012, p.28).
In 2010, five women brought suit against SEPTA because they had failed
to meet the above standard. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania found in favor of SEPTA because SEPTA was able to show that a
certain aerobic capacity was necessary for the job of SEPTA police officer.
SEPTA provided data wherein police officers had been unable to capture
suspects in short pursuits, and this had led to escapes by felons thus
endangering the public.

64

In 2011, a Bellevue, Washington police officer was fired for violating a part
of a department policy that requires officers to maintain a high level of physical
conditioning through regular exercise and proper diet. Chris Parent, 51, fought for
his job in a civil service
commission hearing. Parent was fired on November 28, 2007 for violating a
policy that reads; Police officers are called upon to perform a variety of tasks
that require physical endurance and agility. This dictates that officers maintain a
high level of physical, mental and emotional condition, which can only be
acquired through regular exercise, proper diet and utilizing time (Palmer and
Kuiper, 2013).
More recently, three Suquamish, Washington police officers were fired in
April, 2011
following the departments high-stakes fitness program. The departments officers
are expected to pass a yearly fitness test of push-ups, sit-ups, a 300-meter dash,
and a 1.5 mile runthe later two are timed events (Farley, 2011).
Police unions have generally resisted attempts by police and city
administrators to implement physical fitness written policies and physical fitness
tests for sworn police officers. The unions efforts have generally been successful
in larger departments with strong police
unions. The future of union resistance is uncertain as it will most likely depend of
the direct of litigationparticularly by the United States Supreme Court which
has so far refused to heart cases on this issue.

65

Police Officer Fitness

The most comprehensive 20th Century study of police officer fitness was
conducted by the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research (CIAR) between 1983
and 1993 that randomly sampled approximately 1,700 officers from different law
enforcement agencies across the country (Quigley, 2010). This study found that
officers average fitness levels were below normal in the areas of aerobic fitness,
body fat, and abdominal strength. Fitness levels were average in upper body
strength and low back flexibility. Overall fitness of law enforcement officers in
most areas of the US was less than that of 50 percent of Americans during this
time period (Quigley). As a result of the Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research
work, police officers can apply to attend the Law Enforcement Fitness Specialist
Course. This is a 4.5 day course designed specifically for the law enforcement
and public safety professional who is involved in developing and delivering
physical fitness programs (The Cooper Institute, 2011).
Gregory Tooker and David Cashwell (2012) of the Commission on
Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) completed a pilot study
begun by Tooker and Smith (2010) on behalf of the National League of Cities
local government self-insurance organizations. The authors and CALEA sought
participation in their study from several states; however, only the State of North
Carolina participated. The pilot study was conducted in seven North Carolina
agencies and subsequently funding was provided for the statewide study in 2010.
Despite the lack of participation on a larger scale, the findings were encouraging.
Several participants were able to stop taking medication for hypertension and

66

diabetes because of weight reduction they achieved; two officers stopped

smoking; and significant run time and overall body strength improvements were
recorded.
Bullock (2007) examined worker compensation claims of police officers
covered by the Virginia Municipal Group Self Insurance Association (VMGSIA).
He sought to determine what activities are causing the most frequent and severe
injuries to police officers. Most notable among Bullocks findings is that there is a
strong correlation between an officers fitness/health level and his/her
performance at an ideal level both on and off the streets. Bullock also noted that
police officers live two to five years post-retirement on average. This can be
attributed to a lack of personal and agency fitness and wellness programs.
Nabeel, Baker, McGrail and Flottemesh (2010) explored the correlation
between physical activity, fitness, and injury by surveying a cross section of
police officers in the Minneapolis Police Department. Specifically officers were
asked about their level of fitness, physical activity, and prevalence of injury and
chronic pain within a year of the study period. The authors found that officers with
the highest self-reported fitness levels were less likely to experience sprains,
back pain, and chronic pain than those who considered themselves less fit.
Boyce and Hiatt (2012) conducted a case study of a fitness/wellness
program in a large metropolitan police department in the Southeastern United
States. At the time of their
study, this department had an exemplary 11-year old fitness/wellness program
and thus the

67

choice of this city for their study. Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business
Police officer fitness, recruits were given fitness classes that were structured to
help improve the students cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular
strength, muscular endurance, and body composition. These classes met 3-5
times per week. When officers graduated from the police academy and entered
their 52-week field probationary period, the structured fitness sessions ended,
but officers were encouraged to continue a fitness program of their own
choosing. The incentive to continue was the use of annual (under 45 years) and
bi-annual

(45+)

medical

exam

results

in

promotion,

reclassification,

reassignment, and granted education leave (Boyce & Hiatt,2012).

The findings were not encouraging for unsupervised, unstructured,
voluntary fitness
sessions by individual officers. Recruits showed reductions in 1.5 mile run times
throughout the academy; however, these times increased significantly between
graduation from the academy and the end of the probationary period. The same
was true for flexibility (sit and reach test), endurance (sit-ups), and strength
(bench press); all decreased. Finally, and particularly significant, body fat
decreased during the police academy period but increased during the 52- week
probation and continued to increase when measured at 3 years of employment
(Boyce &Hiatt).

Wellness Plan for Police Officers

68

The psyche of a police officer is not conducive to admitting a problem

exists or seeking voluntary help. Police officers are trained to be in charge of
their emotions at all times. When a police officer responds to a call for service,
he/she is expected to solve the problem at hand. A perception of a loss of control
or chink in the armor is disturbing to 17 the officer. It is for these reasons that I
believe that in addition to the physical wellness issues, a regular and mandatory
psychiatric evaluation and assessment of officers should occur. The reality is that
the stigma associated with the acknowledgement of a problem (alcoholism,
depression, and posttraumatic stress reactions) is still alive and wells in most
police departments. When word gets out about these issues, officers are labeled
as weak, defective or incapable of properly performing their duties. This further
compounds the desire of an officer to voluntarily seek assistance. In many cases
it is only when the problem reaches a monumental level that help is sought. By
this time, the ability to treat or correct the issues associated with the problem are
deeply ingrained With the research and information available, why arent most
police personnel afforded the benefits of a wellness program? This brings to
mind the Malice Green death, which occurred in the city of Detroit. The
administrators were quick to cast blame on the veteran officers who were
involved in the incident. Not one of the administrators took responsibility for the
lack of training and alternative force options which were unavailable to the
officers at the time. Protection and care of law enforcement personnel should be
a top priority of every department. The effective development of professional
police service demands this.

69

Law enforcement agencies can acquire a great deal of information

regarding effective employee wellness issues/programs from corporate America.
The majority of large companies now have some form of an employee wellness
program. Even though there are 18 a number of issues, which are unique to law
enforcement, the methods for dealing with these wellness issues are essentially
the same. The St. Paul Minnesota Police Department has maintained a
progressive wellness Program since 1981.I have reviewed the content of the
program and have found it to be a model program for law enforcement. The
program includes medical screenings and testing, fitness assessment, and on
duty exercise participation. The main headquarters of the police stations are fully
equipped with treadmills, aerobicycles, stair climbers, universal gyms and free
weights. Aerobics classes are offered every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. In
addition to the emphasis on physical fitness, officers are offered various health
promotion programs such as smoking cessation, weight loss, cholesterol control,
and blood pressure management. The program has resulted in reduced
absenteeism, reduced health care claims, and better job performance. The
medical screenings and evaluations have detected numerous, symptom-free
cases of heart disease of which several immediate medical interventions were
required (angioplasty, stent insertion, bypass surgery). The program has
obviously saved lives. The Los Angeles California Police Department has a
unique component to their Employee assistance program. Sgt. Michael Apodaco
is assigned as a coordinator of various mental/physical health issues involving
their officers. Sgt. Apodaco will visit officers who are in the hospital regardless of

70

whether it is a duty-related injury or not. Sgt. Apodaco assists and facilitates with
the work leave and health care process. Additionally, Sgt. Apodaco assists in
various ways with the families of hospitalized Officers. Sgt. Apadaco (Apadoco,
personal communication, July 23, 2013) indicated to 19 me by telephone that to
his knowledge, this type of program assistance was not being conducted to this
level anywhere else. Sgt. Apadaco further stated that the program has been well
received and appreciated by his officers. The demands and expectations of
police officers by the general public as well as the respective administration of
the department are tremendous. It is therefore reprehensible that most law
enforcement agencies do not have or do not properly use some form of a
wellness program to assess and maintain an officers physical and mental wellbeing. It is just as important to continue with the maintenance of an officers
health as it is to evaluate the fitness of an officer during the initial hiring process.
Police departments should have a clear policy, which relates at least to
mandatory health information, evaluations, and screenings. At the present time,
many of the wellness/fitness programs in place within law enforcement are of a
voluntary nature. Many of these programs offer a monetary reward as an
incentive to participate. It is likely that such a policy would prevent further
deterioration of the mental and physical well being of personnel as well as saving
lives through early detection of disease. Additionally, law enforcement officers
should undergo regular psychiatric screenings and debriefings to address the
stress-related issues that officers encounter on a regular basis. Employee

71

assistance programs and/or Department psychological services units should be

fashioned to accomplish this.
A police officer cannot be forced to exercise, eat properly, and follow a
healthy lifestyle. I do believe though, that if a competent wellness program is
presented and maintained from the time a police recruit graduates from the
academy and throughout his/or her career, the likelihood that physical and
mental wellbeing can be maintained is dramatically increased. The success of
established corporate wellness programs supports this. I believe that a
standardization of policy and procedure relating to law enforcement wellness
should be implemented. The evidence is clear regarding the benefits of a
wellness program. Likewise, the evidence is clear as it pertains to the effects a
career in policing can bring. A number of police and fire departments have
provisions within their retirement systems, which presume a duty disability for
heart related diseases. The state of Massachusetts is one such entity, which
acknowledges police and fire personnel stress as a contributing factor in the
development and occurrence of heart disease. Section 32:Section 94. States in
part; Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary
affecting the non-contributory or contributory system, any condition of impairment
of health caused by hypertension or heart disease resulting in total or partial
disability or death to a uniformed member of a paid fire department, or of the
police force of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, or of the state
police, or any public building police, or to any employee in the department of
corrections, if he/she successfully passed a physical examination on entry into

72

such service, or subsequently successfully passed a physical examination, which

examination failed to reveal any evidence of such condition, be presumed to
have been suffered in the line of duty, unless the contrary can be shown by
competent evidence. The common practice, which exists in law enforcement
today, is to leave the decision of physical and mental conditioning and evaluation
to the individual officer.
Agencies must implement mandatory involvement of officers in physical
and psychological maintenance and evaluation programs. Agencies will
undoubtedly be met with resistance from police unions and members, however
the welfare of citizens, police agencies and the officers themselves are at risk
without such a program. The component of mandatory health screenings alone
can detect disease and also emphasize the importance and benefits of such a
program. Health risk appraisals and assessments This would include proactive
monitoring of blood pressure, serum cholesterol, heart stress testing, hepatitis
and other communicable disease testing, and other blood analysis which would
indicate the functioning and health of an individual. Mental Health evaluations
Regular mental health assessments of police personnel. This is a key component
of a law enforcement wellness plan. Currently, mental health assessments are
only made when a problem surfaces either from the officer or the officers
supervisor. The referral is made to some form of an EAP (Employee Assistance
Program), however the mechanism for use is flawed. The knowledge and actions
of individual supervisors frequently determine the use of such programs.
Department policies frequently define critical incidents and mandate debriefing

73

and diffusing sessions with involved officers. I believe that regular mental health
evaluations are appropriate and necessary based on the regular stress levels
encountered by law enforcement personnel and are essential to the well being of
police personnel.
Challenges to mandatory psychological evaluations have been made and
defeated. (PBA local 319 v. Township of Plainsboro, New Jersey, Docket no.MidC-173-98,order dated 10/30/98,Judge Jack Litner) . The ruling held that
legitimate government interest is present and that the psychological test
program is constitutional so long as the police officer is protected from
constitutional violations of privacy. Tingler v. City of Tampa, 400 So.2d146 (Fla.
App.1981) also upheld regularly scheduled evaluations of all serving officers.
Evaluations based on cause have been repeatedly upheld by the judicial system.
Nutrition and weight loss- This component would include proper dietary habits
which have been shown to maintain optimum body weight with lower rates of the
three major chronic diseases- heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Synthesis of the Art and Gap Bridged by the Study

In a recent articles and studies which were cited in this study seemed that
occupation of a policemen demand to stay fit as a part of the job requirements

74

and mandated by the law. Most of the articles and studies were designed a
wellness program for the physical fitness of the policemen. The programs aimed
to examine the endurance as well as the agility and flexibility of the body of the
police officers as well as the aspirants. Some of the studies had found out that
physical fitness test was part of the entry requirement in the police service.
Relatively, this dissertation was assessed and described the health status
of the respondents before designing a health program in order to find appropriate
level of physical activity that would maintain the physical fitness. The assessment
includes the profiling of the respondents in terms of their health status and
lifestyle by defining the significant factors that affect their health. The job
performance is also determined to find relevance to the health and lifestyle profile
of the research respondents. In the recent researches, this assessments were
not included but the current the study consider the significance to come up with
the accurate program that is fit to the health status of the respondents.
Theoretical Framework
The Theory of Health Promotion is likewise relative to the aims of this
research since the output will come up into formulation of a program that suggest
wellness and physical fitness which is a health promotion activity. This theory
was developed by a Nursing Theorist, Nora J. Pender, RN, Ph, D. The health
promotion

75

Figure 1. The Health Promotion Model

model describes the multidimensional nature of persons as they interact within
their environment to pursue health.
Penders Model focuses on three areas: individual characteristics and
experiences, behavior-specific cognitions and affect and behavioral outcomes.
The theory notes that each person has a unique personal characteristics and
experiences that affect subsequent actions. The set of variables for behavior
specific knowledge and affect have important motivational significance. The
variables can be modified through nursing actions. Health promoting behavior is
the desired behavioral outcome which makes it the end point of Health Promotion
Model. These behaviors should result in improved health, enhanced functional
ability and better quality of life at all stages of development. The final behavioral
demand is also influenced by the immediate competing demand and preferences
which can derail actions for promoting health.

76

Relatively, the unique personal characteristics and experiences of the

person would likewise affect his health promotion behavior. The behavior would
somehow be the result in health improvement or may be the source of unhealthy
living if the beliefs are misaligned with the purpose of health promotion model.
Further, it is important that physical activity such as exercise would improve ones
health particularly in the nature of work of policemen. According to Rod K.
Dishman of the University of Georgia, USA, in his theory, he mentioned regular
physical activity is related to numerous psychological and physical benefits.
Physical activity interventions have had varying degrees of success with
adoption; however, maintenance over the long term is even more difficult to
achieve, as the majority of individuals who start a physical activity program drop
out or relapse. Therefore, it is advised that police personnel must exercise an
intense physical activities because it is beneficial to improve also the
psychological aspect of human being as required by the RA 8551 that policemen
must also psychologically fit.

Conceptual Framework
This study was conceptualized through extensive discernment on the
importance of assessing and describing the health status of policemen and its
significance to their job duties. The results would come up with a program that
enhanced their wellness and physical fitness. It has been mentioned that being fit
creates a stronger, more confident person, both physically and mentally. Exercise
reduces daily stress, allowing you to concentrate at work and relax at home.
Police Officers who understood the importance of taking care of themselves

77

become positive role models within their departments, their families, and their
communities. Many who have implemented personal fitness and training
programs into their daily routines, have recognized the many benefits. The
benefits of fitness programs go beyond just work related benefits, but improve
the overall quality of life for those who commit to the lifestyle of fitness.
Maintaining an adequate level of fitness is not only important to job performance,
but it helps relieve stress that builds up from day to day in the very demanding
profession of law enforcement. Most importantly, what must be researched and
expressed is the understanding that there is a serious problem with our nations
police officers and their current level of health and fitness. Certain aspects of an
officers personal life and job performance are directly related to their level of
fitness. So many officers fall into the trap and become caught in these
frustrations. Personal lives, as well as job performance fall prey to the trap and
suffer. The frustrations and anger that manifest are often directed toward love
ones, fellow officers and citizens of their communities. These stresses can be
overcome by conditioning physical exercise. Physical fitness in itself is discipline,
the discipline to keep active and remain in good condition.
This study selected the Police Security and Protection Personnel to be the
respondents. Their health status and lifestyle will be assessed and the
relationship of these variables will be correlated to their job performance. The
study formulated a paradigm in a succeeding page to clearly define the flow of
the research study.

78

Research Paradigm

Figure 1.Research

APPRAISAL AND ASSESSMENT

LIFESTYLE
Paradigm

MODIFI
CATION

FITNESS STATUS
PHYSICAL PROBLEMS
PSYCHO-SOCIAL CONDITIONS

HEALTH, LIFESTYLE
AND FITNESS
PROGRAM

JOB PERFORMANCE

DESIRABLE HEALTH, LIFESTYLE AND FITNESS STATUS

FEEDBACK

79

The conceptual framework of this research is a significant tool to determine the

summarized content as well as the process of the research. It defines the related
variables to come up with the best results of the study. In addition, the paradigm would
clearly feature the beginning action and the possible outcome at the concluding part of
the process. The diagram indicates the flow of the study where the process was clearly
shown. The assessment and appraisal was the beginning activity to determine the
fitness status, lifestyle, psycho-social conditions and physical problems. The arrow
pointing from appraisal to that oblonged shape indicates the second process.
Modification of health, lifestyle and fitness program led to desirable health which would
result to outstanding job performance. However, if the desired output was not met, the
feedback loop indicates that the study should begin from the initial process.

Hypothesis
The study tested the null hypothesis below:
H01. There is no significant relationship between health and fitness status and
the job performance of the PSPG personnel.

Definition of Terms
The

following

terminologies

were

defined

operationally

to

be

more

understandable to the part of the readers. This would give assistance to the reader to
deeply understand the concept of the research.

80

Fitness and Wellness Program. This refers to a designed set of activities used
to help individuals to attain physical fitness and well-being.
Gender and Development (GAD). Is a Development Approach that seeks
equalized the status and condition of and relations between women and men by
Influencing, Implementation, and monitoring and evaluation so that they would
deliberately address the gender issues and concerns affecting the full development of
women.
Gender Mainstreaming. Means

raising peoples GAD awareness and building

GAD related capabilities; putting in place policies, structures, systems and mechanisms
that would facilitate and institutionalize the pursuit of gender equality of womens
empowerment; applying GAD related skills and tools to develop programs, activities and
projects addressing gender issues; continuously Implementing, monitoring, evaluating
and enhancing the agencys gender mainstreaming and womens empowerment efforts;
and Incorporating GAD in all aspects of the agencys operation.
Gender. Refers to roles, attitudes and values assigned by culture and society to
women and men. This roles, attitude and values define the behaviors of women and
men and their relationship between them.
Health and Fitness Problems. This refers to the alterations in body functions
and deformities of structure. The study used to refer this to physical and psycho-social
problems.
Health and Fitness Status. This refers to the Physical, Psycho-social and
Lifestyle of the respondents. Further, this means a complete physical, mental and social

81

well-being of the person and able to do all activities of daily living without limitations is
called to be physically fit.
Health and Wellness Policies. This refers to the implemented rule to follow in
order to maintain a desirable level of health required by a certain agencies. Health and
Wellness policies of the Philippine National Police is indicated at RA 6795 and RA 8551.
Health. The state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity, (WHO). This is used to assess totality of
wellness of the respondents and classified as dependent variable of the study.
Job Performance. It is the ability or level of the person to perform a designated
task proficiently and without fail. This pertains to the performance appraisal for
policemen which is used as instrument to this study.
Physical Fitness and Wellness Program. This is the output of the research. A
program which advocate on the healthy lifestyle and physical health of the policemen.
Physical Health. This refers to the capacity and ability of the policemen to
perform their duties to the fullest extent through normal function of their body.
PNP Protective Security Personnel (PSP). This refers to a member of the PNP
providing protective security. Pertains to members of the Philippine National Police
which include the uniformed personnel (Policemen and Policewomen) and the nonuniformed personnel (NUP)/Civilian employees.
Police Security and Protection Group. This group of policemen are in-charge
of giving protection and security to the special individual or group that need to be
secured for a legal reasons.

82

Policy Implication. This refers to the formulation of policies based from the
output of a certain studies that need to implement for the innovation and addendum of
previously implemented policies to help attain the maximum level of services to the
people.
Private Detective Agency (PDA). This shall mean any juridical person,
association, partnership, firm or Private Corporation, who contracts, recruits, trains,
furnishes or posts a licensed private detective to perform private detective services such
as investigation, surveillance, information gathering, training, consultancy to any person,
private or public corporation under a contracted compensation. This includes providing
personal security protection service to private persons or individuals.
Protectee. It refers to the person being provided with protective security. This
shall also mean client as used in the personal security protection service offered by
PDA.
Protection Agent (PA). This shall mean a SOSIA-licensed Private Security
Personnel qualified and selected to perform or provide personal security protection to
private persons or individuals entitled to protection.
Protective Security. It is the state or quality of being secured or freed from
danger and uncertainty. It may also include the various means or devices designed to
guard persons and property against a broad range of security hazards.
Psycho-Social Health. This refers to the ability of the person to adapt and
behave to the other people or the community as a whole.
RA 6975. An act establishing the Philippine National Police under a reorganized
department of the interior and local government, and for other purposes. It was created
in December 13, 1990.

83

RA 8551. An act providing for the reform and reorganization of the Philippine
National Police and for other purposes, amending certain provisions of republic act
numbered sixty-nine hundred and seventy-five entitled, "an act establishing the
Philippine National Police under a re-organized department of the interior and local
government, and for other purposes. It was created on February 25, 1998.
Standards. This refers to a customary rule set by the authorities to follow as
required by certain agencies or organization.
Stress Management. The amelioration of stress and especially chronic stress
often for the purpose of Improving everyday functioning.
Stress. A condition typically characterized by symptoms of mental and physical
tension or strain, as depression or hypertension, that can result from a reaction to a
situation in which a person feels threatened, pressured.

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NOTES
Mary Shane Adams Published Article titled: Dimensons of Wellness, Time
Magazine pages 25-26 Vol III 2012 Agencies, 96, p.1.
John B. Algie (2011). And the beat goes on. Sun Times, Owen Sound,
Ontario, Canada,
Jon C. Blum An Article The Law Enforcement Trainer 2013 Published by
Michigan University USA.
Mike E. Brooks (2011). Law enforcement physical fitness standards and title VII.
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 70(5), pp. 26-32.
Tine T. Bullock (2010,). Police officer injury study. VML Insurance Program Law
Rodney V. Cameron An Article on the Licensing Laws on Public Entertainments
by: Lifestyle Police. 2011
Amanda L. Chan (2014) Job Stress Among Policemen Cited By: Medical News
Today.
Melinda A. Dolor The Health and Lifestyle of Selected Policemen of Mapandan
Police Station A Master Thesis for Master of Arts in Education Pangasinan State
University, Dagupan City. Published at National Library 2012.
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department revamps fitnesspolicy, Kitsap Sun Newspaper Online. Retrieved
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Maverick M. Farmer, (2011). Fit at 40. Law & Order, 52(6), p. 34-39.
Retrieved on August 22, 2011, from ProQuest database, DOI
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Troy M. Hamilton An Article titled: Wellness Culture published at National
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Belle Anne C Hitch A Study on Job Related Stress by Cooper Institute for
Aerobics Research 2013.Journal of Legal Issues and Cases in Business Police
officer fitness, Page 14
David D. Miller A Research Study of Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research in
Dallas, Texas, 2012
Jane G. Palmer & Joy Y. Kuiper (2008, January 11). Hearing
continues for bellevue officer fired over fitness. Omaha World-Herald, p.2.
Retrieved on August 22, 2011 from ProQuest
Andrew A. Quigley (2008, June). Fit for duty? The need for physical
fitness programs for law enforcer.
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New South Wales, Australia (2014). A Survey on How Healthy are the Policemen by
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Vol.4, 2011 pages 17-18 Published by Philippine Publishing House, Inc.
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study conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Heart Math, a non-profit research and public
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as Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease, 2012. Unpublished Thesis De La Salle
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Carlo J. Tan MD Health Risks Among Police Officers: An Analysis, A Master
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Benedict B. Taylor (2013, December 24). Fight the flab or face the
sack. London Daily Mail, p.34.Retrieved on August 22, 2013, from ProQuest
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Timmy Wilson, T. 2005, April 30). Its just another brick in his wall.
The Gold Coast Bulletin

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