All police officers should be made to take a fitness test every year,with a pay cut for those who repeatedly fail,a review said. In the Metropolitan Police,more than half(52 percent)of its men officers are over- weight, a fifth (22 percent) are obese, and one in 100 are"morbidly obese".For women officers in the Met,a third(32 percent) are overweight,16 percent are obese and 2 per-cent are morbidly obese. Tom Winsor,who has carried out the widest-ranging research of police pay and conditions in more than 30 years,said those who fail the test three times should face a pay cut. Chief constables should be able to fire any officer as part of budget cuts, ending a job for life. It also recommended that applicants should be able to enter the police service directly at inspector rank,and,"after strict testing",at superintendent rank. Mr Winsor said:"I think the public will be surprised that after passing a fitness test when they join the police,physical fitness is not tested again in a 30,35-year career." An initial yearly test requiring officers to reach level 5'4 on the bleep test should be brought in by September next year. This is equal to an average speed of 8. 8kph(5.5mph) for three minutes 35 seconds,he said. But this should get tougher by September 2018,along similar lines to the test currently used in Northern Ireland. This includes climbing over walls and pulling bodies and was designed to reflect situations which"police officers do and can become involved in". Mr Winsor expected that many officers would welcome the proposals,saying they would see it"as a necessary protection for themselves and the public". It is predicted that many officers would like the yearly test because  _  *
they would get healthier after the test they could protect themselves and others they would be able to get higher pay they could practise rock climbing