Services
Total Fitness Solutions for a public safety agency are not intuitive, they must be discerned. This suggests a process - a process of first identifying needs. The goal is to move beyond a vague perception such as 'We need standards.' or 'If we only had a program around here.' to a position of understanding. With an understanding of the agency's needs established, the issues inherent in dealing with those needs, and the process of meeting then become apparent.
A needs analysis can be an informal process involving a few people or a comprehensive review of existing or developed data describing the current condition of the agency. In either case, a needs analysis is an objective, quantifiable, outcome oriented exercise.
All too often, agencies assume standards are the solution or that by training one or two staff members will result in an agency program. Clearly these represent starting points - and both are viable. However, let's start with some basic assumptions:
- Public safety officers (PSO's) are called upon to perform important, often critical physical job tasks.
- PSO's physiological capabilities and readiness directly relate to their effectiveness, their safety, and the safety of their fellow officers as well as the public they serve.
- It is incumbent upon the public safety agencies and their communities to develop and maintain a fit and capable work force.
The vehicle for achieving this goal is a physical readiness program.
FitForce Position
We view the contracting for services as the beginning of a relationship between the client, its workforce, and our consultant team. A relationship such as this should be entered judiciously, based on relevant information. Please consider:
FitForce was originally established in 1993 as a division of Human Kinetics of Champaign, Illinois. Since 1998, FitForce has been a service of J.E.Smith, Jr. and Integrated Fitness Systems.
FitForce and its consultant team are the nationally recognized leaders in the field of public safety physical readiness with over 60 person years of experience in developing and implementing physical ability standards and programs.
Over the years the consultant team has conducted more than 50 standards validation projects for over 160 public safety agencies, nearly 40 of which were identical in scope. For those validation studies, job related physical fitness standards for selection, training, and retention were defined with program, staff training and policy recommendations formulated.
In addition, members of the consultant team have conducted over 400 public safety fitness instructor courses through FitForce, the Cooper Institute, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, public safety fitness clinics for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and Master Fitness Trainer courses for the United States Army.
From the Field
The Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Office has contracted with one of our associates, Bob Hoffman for a host of services. A validation study to identify physical readiness standards were linked to a FitForce Coordinator Course to train and certify agency staff. With the standards identified, policies and procedures were implemented along with an in-service program including a beginner program for previously sedentary officers.
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