The basic requirement for a police officer is the desire to "protect and serve" the community. To do that, police officers must meet minimum stature, hearing, endurance and physical fitness standards. Though police departments will have similar overall guidelines, the minimum physical requirements a police candidate must meet may differ for each police agency. The following are the common physical requirements for police officers:
Stature
Your weight must be medically acceptable for your height and cannot hinder your ability to execute the duties of a general patrol police officer.
Hearing
Police officers must, with or without corrective aid, be able to pinpoint the source of competing sounds and understand English speech of varying volume levels and dialects.
Vision
Your vision, with or without corrective lenses, must be 20/40 or better.
Speech
Bilingual or multilingual officers are ideal but police officers must, at minimum, demonstrate the ability to speak English clearly.
Physical Fitness
You must pass an assessment of your overall health, strength, agility and endurance to demonstrate that you can safely participate in all police training and job duties.