Women only fitness tests: new dates launched

12 September 2019

The Force has released the dates for its women only Job-Related Fitness Tests for the next six months following the success of the previous sessions.

The proposed female only dates through to the end of March 2020 are as follows:

Tier 1 (two day)                  Tier 2 (one day)

10/11 October                        18 October           

11/12 November                    25 November           

17/18 December                      6 December

13/14 January                        10 January

13/14 February                     12 February

11/12 March                          13 March

Derbyshire Police Federation secretary Kirsty Bunn was instrumental in securing the women only fitness testing sessions and, along with the Gender Agenda Network, had raised concerns about the number of women officers failing the tests previously.

“We became aware that many women were feeling anxious about the tests and we believe taking the tests alongside their male colleagues was a contributory factor,” Kirsty said, “We were not seeking any preferential treatment for women but felt that since both nationally and locally the pass rate for female officers is lower than that of male officers something needed to be done to try to help address their anxiety.

“The standard of fitness test 5:4 is not compromised but women officers who feel that anxiety or concern now have the opportunity to take the test in a female only environment which they may be more comfortable with.”

Women who want to continue to take the fitness test in mixed groups can still opt to do so.

If your JRFT is due and you would like the opportunity to attend one of these sessions, please send an email to Force Training with the date of your training and stating your preference for a women-only test.

As you may be aware, the Operational Training Team can offer support and advice to anyone concerned about the test.