Do you have the strength and endurance to be a Juneau police officer? You can find out this Saturday when JPD holds a practice fitness test for the general public at Thunder Mountain High School.
The test consists of the five physical activities you must complete to meet the department’s minimum hiring standards. Lt. Kris Sell says JPD often hears from people who want to become a police officer, but either can’t pass the physical test or are worried they won’t be able to pass it.
“So we decided to do this practice test to let people come out, see what the test was going to feel like, get some advice on training for the test, ask about life at the academy, and the hiring process, and anything they had questions about to just kind of demystify that process,” Sell says.
To be hired by JPD, recruits must complete a 300 meter run in less than 74 seconds; do a vertical jump of two feet or higher; do a minimum of 21 pushups; complete 15 sit ups in less than a minute; and run a mile and a half in less than 16:44.
Sell says recruits should be able to do all that before they go to the police academy.
“Passing the test does not mean you’re ready for a police academy,” says Sell. “Passing the test means that we can send you to the police academy and you won’t need an ambulance on the first day.”
Sell says JPD has 10 vacancies right now, and only a few candidates are close to being hired. The process, which also includes mental tests and a background check, can take several weeks if not months.
Officers will be on hand to answer questions at Saturday’s practice test, which takes place from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Thunder Mountain High School track.
