NCJ Number
182972
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 67 Issue: 4 Dated: April 2000 Pages: 167-172
Editor(s)
Charles E. Higginbotham
Date Published
2000
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Benefits of the wellness screening program instituted by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) are addressed, and guidelines on the implementation of wellness screening programs in other jurisdictions are offered.
Abstract
The SLMPD acknowledged for many years the importance of health and physical fitness but had to consider the problems inherent in police officer physical fitness testing. Exercise physiologists of the SLMPD developed a wellness screening program for commissioned police officers. Central themes of the program were that overall health was the greatest contributor to physical fitness and that overall health and physical fitness could not be considered separately. Primary goals of the program were to inform police officers about the state of their health and to provide personalized feedback they could use to improve on any problems discovered during wellness screening. Start-up costs of the program were about $2,500 to purchase such equipment as a cholesterol/blood glucose analyzer, blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and blood testing accessories. Guidelines to help other jurisdictions establish wellness screening programs are presented that consider confidentiality, the use of trained personnel to interpret health data and provide counseling, and screening procedures. 7 footnotes