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Program Design
"Law enforcement executives who fail to incorporate fitness and health programs in their management strategy create significant liability exposures for their agencies as well as health risks for their employees." - a senior law enforcement official
The primary function of health and fitness program in a public safety agency is to ensure the physical readiness of its incumbent workforce. When administrators consider a program they frequently will quickly assume it must include mandatory standards. Standards will ensure that all members are performing at a minimum level of ability, a program will ensure the success of those standards. It is for this reason we recommend clients consider a program first if they anticipate resistance or difficulty in implementing standards. If the way to mandatory standards is clear, then as a usual course of action we make a multi-point recommendation on a department-based physical readiness program.
What Should a Program Look Like?
In 2002 the National League of Cities’ (NLC) captive reinsurance facility, NLC Mutual Insurance Company, partnered with several law enforcement organizations to form a national Task Group to study the problem and to develop possible solutions. Initial Task Group participants consisted of
• Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies
• Fraternal Order of Police
• International Association of Chiefs of Police
• National Sheriffs’ Association
• National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives
• International Association of Directors of Law Enforcement Standards and Training
• Police Executive Research Forum
• American Society for Law Enforcement Training
• NLC Mutual Insurance Company
• FitForce™.
The Task Group held its initial meeting on August 21, 2002 at CALEA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia.
After consideration of this issue by members of the Task Group, it was concluded the drafting of a generic Voluntary Law Enforcement Fitness/Wellness Model Program would be the most effective approach. The Task Group envisioned an easily adaptable model, which would be universally viewed as positive and in the best interests of both law enforcement agencies and their personnel. The final version of the model was adequately flexible to permit some expansion by its users to incorporate incentives or other measures should the adopting agency deem it appropriate.
From the Field
One of our large, state police clients has been involved in a years long effort to develop their program. The initial response to our recommended fitness standards some time ago was resistance due to a concern around impact on hiring. In lieu of standards implementation, a decision was made to pursue a program with hiring requirements alone. In the intervening years, this agency has developed an instructor cadre of over 100 fitness coordinators, yearly updates and periodic recertification, mandatory in-service training on Fitness Lifestyle issues, and voluntary, agency-funded confidential health screens. Our hope is that our recommended incumbent standards will follow; in the meantime, the agency, the state they serve and their officers all benefit from this comprehensive program.
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We have identified a number of issues that confound agencies considering a physical readiness program as well as the elements of such an approach. Within this document we explain the components of a program:
THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A TOTAL FITNESS PROGRAM
• A Trained and Well-Oriented Leadership
• Program Coordinator
• Health screening
• Fitness Assessment
• Goal Setting
• Planning
• Education
• Ongoing Support
• Phase-In Plan
• Standards (optional)
From the Field
The state pools participating in the NLC-Mutual project - Colorado, Florida, Texas, South Dakota, and Kentucky have all assisted in training a cadre of instructors in their jurisdictions. Police departments in each of the five states are attempting to develop programs to serve their sworn personnel. FitForce has been the technical adviser on this initiative and as part of that support, we have developed a set of web-based resources for the participating agencies. Click here to visit the website.
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Please contact us if we can be of assistance in your early planning stages, update efforts, or ongoing development of your public safety physical readiness program.
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