UK cops who fail fitness tests face pay cuts

Those who fail the test three times should be subject to disciplinary procedures and a pay cut

By Wesley Johnson
Press Association Mediapoint

LONDON — All police officers should be made to take an annual fitness test, with a pay cut for those who repeatedly fail, a review said today.

Tom Winsor, who has carried out the widest-ranging review of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years, said those who fail the test three times should be subject to disciplinary procedures and a pay cut.

Chief constables should be able to make any officer redundant as part of budget cuts, ending the prospect of a job for life, the report said.

It also recommended that applicants should be able to enter the police service directly at inspector rank, and, "after rigorous testing'', at superintendent rank.

Mr Winsor said: "It is clear that the existing pay system is unfair and inefficient.

"It was designed in 1920 and has remained largely unchanged since 1978.''

But he added: "Officers who work on the front line, exercising their powers as constables in the most difficult circumstances, have nothing to fear from this review.''

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