Construction, validation, and derivation of performance standards for a fitness test for correctional officer applicants

TLDR

The study aimed to develop and validate a fitness test (FITCO) for correctional officer applicants and set acceptable performance standards. FITCO comprised a simulated cell search, an emergency response circuit with a 60‑m run, stair climbs, inmate control, wrist restraint, arm retraction, mannequin drag, and an aerobic fitness assessment. FITCO demonstrated strong validity, with high congruence between physiological measures during the circuit and on‑the‑job tasks, excellent content validity (Likert >6), and a test‑retest reliability ICC of 0.977, satisfying the Supreme Court of Canada’s Meiorin criteria.

Abstract

The purpose of this investigation was to develop and validate a fitness test for correctional officer (CO) applicants (FITCO) and to establish associated standards of acceptability. The FITCO incorporated the most important, physically demanding, and frequently occurring tasks of a CO. It consists of (i) a simulated cell search; (ii) an emergency response circuit (ERC), involving a 60-m run while scaling 4 sets of stairs, followed by simulations of an inmate control, wrist restraint, arm retraction, and 40-m mannequin drag; and (iii) a test of aerobic fitness. The validity of the FITCO was established by very high congruence between the oxygen consumption, heart rate, and rating of perceived exertion of incumbent COs while performing the ERC with the same measurements while COs were performing the on-the-job tasks on which the ERC was based. The content validity of the FITCO was confirmed by very high Likert ratings (>6 on a 7-point scale) by both male and female incumbent COs of all ages concerning the importance, relatedness, physical demands, and overall appropriateness of the FITCO for evaluating CO applicants. We conclude that because the forces built into the ERC and the FITCO standards were both derived from the performance of safe and efficient incumbent female COs of all ages, and both the validity and test-retest reliability (intraclass correllation coefficient = 0.977) of the FITCO are very high, the FITCO was properly constructed to meet the requirements of the Supreme Court of Canada's Meiorin Decision.