Media > Newsletters > On the Job: Criminal Justice Update > Spring 2016 > Fitness test to be required before basic training
On the Job 
Criminal Justice Update
Fitness test to be required before basic training
5/11/2016
As of January 2017, applicants to Ohio peace officer basic training academies will have to pass a pre-entrance physical fitness test.
On March 10, the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission (OPOTC) voted to require that prospective cadets be able to perform at the 15th percentile of the Cooper Institute standards — a fitness test first developed for military use and then adopted by law enforcement. The standards test the relative fitness of an individual based on age and gender. The pre-entrance test can be retaken; the applicant just has to pass it before classes begin.
At the end of basic training, cadets will continue to be required to perform at the minimum 50th percentile of the Cooper standards to be eligible to take the state certification exam.
“This pre-entrance assessment will ensure that applicants are at a base level to start training,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine. “As peace officer training becomes more advanced and strenuous, such as in scenario-based courses, we need to make sure cadets are prepared to face those challenges when they enter an academy.”
From 2012 to 2014, about 9 percent of cadets at Ohio academies failed the required physical fitness assessment at the end of their training and were unable to graduate, according to a survey of all academies conducted by OPOTC.
Today, 69 percent of the academies in Ohio already have pre-entrance physical fitness requirements.
In December, Attorney General DeWine urged OPOTC to adopt uniform pre-certification standards for applicants to basic training academies. The request is based on recommendations of the Ohio Attorney General’s Advisory Group on Law Enforcement Training, which issued a report of findings and recommendations in April 2015.
Pre-entrance Minimum Scores
Males ≤ 29
Situps (1 minute) 32
Pushups (1 minute) 19
1.5-mile run 14:34
Females ≤ 29
Situps (1 minute) 23
Pushups (1 minute) 9
1.5-mile run 17:49