SAN ANTONIO — Applicants joining the Bexar County Sheriff’s Academy will soon have to meet different physical fitness requirements; with a new agility test geared specifically for the actual job.
- BCSO has new and improved fitness test
- Old test did not reflect what officers face in jail
- Rolls out in November
“This is a cutting edge program. No one in Texas has ever done this before,” said recruiting supervisor Sgt. Kathryn Brown with the Bexar County Sheriff's Recruiting Team.
The agency is rethinking testing for future detention officers.
“We want the best applicants. We want people that are more apt to come in and represent us in our uniform and protect and serve the way they’re expected to do the way they were hired to do in a honorable way,” said Sheriff Javier Salazar.
After several months of working together, BCSO and the YMCA have created a new and improved fitness testing.
“Sometimes, you know, you get used to something for so long that you want to kind of modernize, because you want to be able to address whatever the needs are specific for a job type,” said YMCA health and wellness coordinator Joshua Sandoval.
According to Salazar, the old test did not accurately reflect what detention officers typically face inside the jail. Under the current system, Salazar said cadets are required to run a mile and a half in “satisfactory time,” despite the fact that they will most likely never have to run in jail.
With the help of trainers, cadets are testing and fine-tuning the physical requirements for emergency situations.
“Everyday is different. You have the dangers of, you know, possibly getting hurt, but in the jail and your unit. If you know how to run your unit and do your job, you know the policies – everything will be fine,” said BCSO academy cadet Brandon Bernardino.
The new BSCO physical agility test rolls out in November.