Reliability of Police Physical Tasks and Fitness Predictors
Source abstract
Abstract
(1) Background: It seems that (i) the most frequent and critical physical tasks during police service are fence jump, victim drag, and arrest suspect, and (ii) high fitness attributes are conducive to solving police physical tasks with higher success rates. By this, this study aims (i) to evaluate the reliability for assessing police physical tasks (PPTs) and (ii) to identify the fitness attributes that best explain the performance in carrying out PPT. We hypothesize that performance in PPT presents high reliability and that fitness attributes are significant predictors of performance in PPT. (2) Methods: A total of 76 cadets from the Portuguese Police Academy completed (i) three PPT (fence jump—FJ; victim drag—VD; and arrest suspect—AS) in two distinct sessions (T1 and T2), separated by a one-week interval (test–retest design), and subsequently, separated by a one-week interval, (ii) seven fitness tests (T3; cross-sectional design). (3) Results: It was observed that (i) the mean difference in performance (T2-T1) in FJ was 0.05 s (ICC = 0.88), in VD was −0.06 s (ICC = 0.92), and in the AS was −1.21 s (ICC = 0.81); (ii) male cadets were significantly faster, more agile, stronger, and more resistant than female cadets, and they were significantly faster at FJ and VD; (iii) in females, performance in the 30 m sprint tests, sit-ups, and horizontal jump are predictors of FJ, VD, and AS, respectively; and (iv) in males, performance in the horizontal jump and the 20 m shuttle run are predictors of FJ performance, while handgrip strength is a significant predictor in the VD. (4) Conclusions: This study showed that (i) the PPT evaluation protocol presents high reliability (ICC of 0.87, SE = 0.17), suggesting that it is a reliable protocol, capable of being applied to police officers, and (ii) within the scope of attributes that predict performance in the PPTs under study, it appears that the explosive strength of the lower limbs is a relevant attribute, regardless of gender.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Occupational Health and Performance · Sports Performance and Training · Genetics and Physical Performance
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security, 1300-663 Lisbon, Portugal
ICPOL–Police Research Center, Higher Institute of Police Sciences and Internal Security, 1300-663 Lisbon, Portugal
CIDEFES, FEFD, Lusófona University, 1749-024 Lisbon, Portugal
CIFI2D, Oporto University, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal
Funding
Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research and Technology—FCT
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