A GARDA REPRESENTATIVE leader has said that standards must not be dropped on recruit fitness levels but efforts must be made to meet the required recruitment numbers for the force.
President of the Garda Representative Association Garda Brendan O’Connor was speaking after TD and Fianna Fáil Justice spokesman Jim O’Callaghan suggested that the standards were too onerous for candidates.
O’Callaghan had said that he had “concerns that the standard was too demanding” for candidates and this was causing problems in recruitment.
But both a garda spokesperson and Garda Brendan O’Connor, on behalf of the GRA, said that it was important to maintain standards.
At present the Physical Competency Test, which is carried out during the recruitment process, consists of a so-called beep-test with a two hour break and then a specially designed obstacle course and push-pull machine simulating wrestling with a resistant prisoner.
A beep test is also known as a shuttle run and consists of candidates running between two sides of a room with the speed increasing repeatedly by following the beeps at the end of each turn.
Similar tests are carried out in the UK, Australia and other jurisdictions. Some police forces include a run over a distance of a mile and a half also.
”The Government has allocated an unprecedented budget of €2.14 billion to An Garda Síochána this year. This level of funding enables sustained, ongoing recruitment of Garda members and staff.
“However, the rate of fitness test failures is affecting the drive to boost falling Garda numbers and I am advised by the Minister for Justice, Simon Harris, that as of early December, 55 candidates out of 315 had failed their Physical Competency Test (PCT).
“I am concerned that the fitness test is too demanding, out of step with other jurisdictions and is becoming a growing factor blocking recruitment,” O’Callaghan said in a press statement.
The Dáil Deputy said a similar test in the PSNI gives more time for candidates to complete the obstacle course.
He also said that Canadian police recruits go through a similar assessment but have much longer time than the garda test.
“I believe that the time limits we are placing on trainees to complete the PCT is contributing to the failure of meeting recruitment targets, and this should be reviewed as a matter of urgency,” he added.
In a recent article The Journal revealed there was a problem with rising resignations in An Garda Síochána and a problem of recruits leaving before the end of their training.
Previously this website sent a reporter to undergo the test – but a new module, the beep test, has since been added.
Despite assurances of a massive recruitment drive just 25 gardaí are in training at present. There is, according to garda figures, just over 350 due to become gardaí by the end of 2023.
Garda O’Connor said: “The job of a Garda can be extremely demanding and this fitness test is well established having been designed with the assistance of outside experts and has been successfully met by thousands of applicants.”
He said that he welcomes a discussion on why there is a problem with garda recruitment figures.
“The GRA welcomes any move or conversation about addressing the failure to meet recruitment targets set by the government and which an Garda Síochána have the capacity to train.
“I believe that the solution is not to in any way reduce standards but to ensure that sufficient numbers of applicants are presented to an Garda Síochána for screening and vetting.
“The GRA believes that there are many issues that are making a career in An Garda Síochána less attractive and fixing these issues would attract more than enough high calibre candidates with the appropriate skills and competencies that are required.
A garda spokesperson said that garda applicants were required to “be aerobically fit” so that they can sustain the training programme in the Garda College and carry out the duties assigned to them.
The training regime, the gardaí said, is consistently assessed that candidates meet the recruitment before becoming a fully qualified garda.
“Members of An Garda Síochána, are encouraged and expected to maintain their fitness and health for long term effectiveness and physical fitness assessments are part of requirements for entry into and retention in certain specialist roles within An Garda Síochána,” the spokesperson added.
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