Pudgy police to face pay cuts in England

England’s portly policemen and chubby constables face pay cuts if they fail fitness testing, a new report issued Thursday suggests.

The report found 52 percent of Metropolitan Police officers and staff are overweight, 22 percent are obese and 1 percent morbidly obese, The Telegraph reported.

The English government enlisted Tom Winsor – who previously helped regulate the rail industry – to update decades old standards and practices.

“It is clear that the existing pay system is unfair and inefficient,” he told The Telegraph. “It was designed in 1920 and has remained largely unchanged since 1978.”

If an officer fails a fitness test 3 straight attempts, he or she could see an 8 percent penalty. 

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The report also addresses austerity measures in England and suggests ways to trim 1.9 billion pounds ($3 billion) over 5 years.

Among the reports other suggestions, according to The Daily Mail, are:

• Reduce starting salaries to 19,000 pounds ($30,000) from 23,500 ($37,150) for constables with no experience
• Eliminate automatic pay rises
• Match pay scales to performance
• Allow chief constables to eliminate jobs to meet budgets
• Fast-track prize recruits to superintendent
• Introduce regular fitness testing

In England, police positions are prized for generous pensions and “job for life” status.

Winsor said that officers who work hard have nothing to fear; however, there is no current method of keeping them fit.

“I think the public will be surprised that after passing a fitness test at the point of entry, except in special units like firearms, physical fitness is not tested again in a 30, 35-year career,” Winsor told The Daily Mail.

Police union boss Paul McKeever said the service is under siege already. He told Reuters that police officers have been subjected to wage freezes, high pension contributions and less hiring.

“Police officers have had enough of the constant state of uncertainty and the deliberate, sustained attack on them by this government,” he told Reuters. “The service cannot take any more; enough is enough.”

The government must still vote on the report. 

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