NYPD drops 1.5-mile run requirement as department struggles to attract recruits
New York NY March 3 2023 The NYPD has dropped their timed 1.5-mile run requirement for police officer candidates, ending a dispute between Chief of Training Juanita Holmes and Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell.
The change received push back from the department and was settled by Mayor Eric Adams, the New York Post reported.
“No cop on patrol runs a mile and a half,” Holmes told the NY Post. “No one is chasing anyone a mile and a half. Not to mention every day in the gym you are doing a mile and a half [as part of training].”
Dropping the timed run requirement is part of an effort to gain more female applicants.
The Job Standard Test is now the only physical requirement candidates must pass. The test must be completed in four minutes and 28 seconds. It involves sprinting 50 feet, clearing a barrier, climbing stairs, dragging a 176-pound mannequin 35 feet and pulling the trigger of an unloaded firearm multiple times.
An NYPD spokesperson told Fox News Digital the Job Standard Test is satisfactory. “Following the change in the law and consultation with [Department of Criminal Justice Services], it was determined that the NYPD’s Job Standard Test, which includes the timed completion of six rigorous stations without stopping, satisfies the [Municipal Police Training Council’s] fitness standards.”
