Reports that 70 per cent of officers are overweight dismissed as ‘total rubbish’

The claims were widely reported in the media and based on internal force correspondence on a health-screening project.

Responding to the reports, Hampshire Constabulary said: “We would like to clarify that it is not the case that almost 70 per cent of our workforce is overweight or obese.

“This information was taken from internal communications in relation to our responsibility as an employer to conduct vulnerability assessments of our staff and officers in relation to Covid-19.

“The figures were taken from our physical assessment and screening of a small sample of 525 of our officers and staff who specifically came to us for help with their wellbeing and their fitness over the last two years.

“So where the figures suggest almost 70 per cent are overweight, this is actually 70 per cent of the 525 sample, and this 525 sample represents just eight per cent of our force.

“Therefore it is not representative of our workforce as a whole.

“To clarify, 70 per cent of 525 is 367 people, which is six per cent of our entire workforce.”

Hampshire Police Federation dismissed the media reports as “total rubbish”.

“It’s just not true,” said Federation chair Alex Charge. “And we are saddened that this is based on internal force correspondence and that newspapers have decided to run such a derogatory headline and stories about our hard-working colleagues at such a time without it being based on fact.

“To say seven out of ten Hampshire police officers are overweight or even obese is unfair, inaccurate and does nothing to improve the morale of our hard working members. This data has come from a health-screening project and is based on 500 out of 6,000 officers and staff who volunteered to take part.”

He added: “Might I suggest those colleagues who do not have potential concerns about their fitness or weight would not have been first in the queue to volunteer for the study – therefore the data may be skewed?

“Also, when you look at the data, in terms of body fat percentage rather than BMI (body mass index), only 18 per cent of officers who were screened came out as ‘obese’, showing that there is a lot of functional lean body mass (muscle) out there in the constabulary. So these media headlines are nonsense and should be firmly challenged.

“Yes, policing, as with society, will have those deemed ‘overweight’ when compared to national average. But officers have to pass an annual fitness test so always have a level of health and fitness they need to maintain – which as we know can be tricky with the difficulties of shift work.

“And we should be supporting those colleagues who have issues in these areas – rather than shaming them in this way.”

Hampshire Constabulary said it takes wellbeing very seriously as it knows the job can be incredibly challenging for officers and staff.

“The physical and mental health of our staff is incredibly important to us, and we are committed to proactive and reactive strategies to increase good health and wellbeing in our policing teams,” it said.

“The health screening project that provided us with this data is just one aspect of our response to ensuring everyone who works for Hampshire Constabulary is in good health and has access to support services if they are not.”

Deputy Chief Constable Sara Glen has launched a series of health and wellbeing initiatives, and the force has a Health and Resilience Guide, which is designed to bring together advice and expertise in maintaining resilience in all areas from the occupational health and wellbeing teams.

Ms Glen has also recently launched ‘Dep’s Dinners’, an initiative to deliver highly nutritious meals, wraps, and soups to officers on the late shifts, as well as healthy recipe cards to encourage good nutrition for people on the go and working different shifts.

Hampshire Constabulary also recently launched Frontline Fitness, which is a programme spearheaded by one of its frontline officers. This is a facility for staff who want to make any form of positive change to their health through understanding their fitness and nutrition better, and includes virtual training and exercise programmes.

“As well as supporting our officers and staff physical wellbeing, we offer psychological screening to identify those are in need of extra support,” said the constabulary.

“We absolutely acknowledge that policing is a tough vocation and we in Hampshire Constabulary are acutely aware of our need to be proactive about the health and wellbeing.

“We are proud that we have had very low sickness rates in our workforce as a result of Covid-19 and we will remain proactive in this area, as we are a force that is committed to looking after our people to ensure our communities get the best service from our workforce.”