Relationship Between Age and Performance of Police Tactical Group Candidates and Officers Completing an Occupationally Relevant Specialist Police Physical Assessment

BACKGROUND: Police Tactical Group (PTG) officers, in general, are older than their general duties counterparts. The nature of the occupational role scope demands a high level of fitness; thus, physical assessments are essential. This research investigated the relationship between officer age and completion times for an occupationally relevant physical fitness assessment in specialist police officers. METHODS: Retrospective data were collected from 34 male PTG officers (age 37.8 [SD 6.5] y); height 181.6 [SD 6.7] cm; body mass 91.5 [SD 10.9] kg) and 18 male PTG candidates (age 32.1 [SD 5.0] y; height 183.7 [SD 5.8] cm; body mass 89.4 [SD 8.7] kg) competing in the RUSH assessment. The RUSH consisted of alternating directional sprints, crawls, 80kg mannequin drags (10-20m), and adopting shooting positions. Operational personal protective equipment (PPE; 22.2 [SD 4.90] kg) was worn. RESULTS: PTG officers were significantly older (P=.002) and carried significantly lighter PPE loads (P