Think you’re as fit — or fitter — than the NYPD? Before you earn the badge, you’ll need to beat the clock.
Aspiring cops looking to join the nation’s largest municipal police force first have to conquer the “Job Standard Test,” a grueling obstacle course that will test your speed, strength, and endurance under pressure.
To qualify for the NYPD’s six-month training at the police academy in Flushing, Queens, recruits must complete six punishing tasks in under 4 minutes and 28 seconds, all while wearing a 14-pound weighted vest.
Fail one section and you’re out.
The obstacle course from hell
The clock starts with a climb. From a kneeling position, candidates must sprint 50 feet and then scale a 6-foot chain-link fence in the Police Academy Gym. You get three tries to clear the fence.
No rest for the weary — next up is the six-stair system, where NYPD hopefuls must complete three over-and-back runs, equal to a four-story climb.
Still standing? The next step challenges candidates to resist or control force in a physical restraint scenario, using a weight machine designed to simulate a struggle with a suspect.
From there, it’s a 600-foot cone run, followed by a simulated victim rescue where candidates must drag a 176-pound mannequin a full 35 feet.
The final hurdle is the trigger pull. Wannabe cops must handle a dummy firearm, keeping it steady within a 9-inch target and pulling the trigger 16 times with their dominant hand and 15 times with the other.
Once the 31st trigger pull is complete, the clock stops. Finish under the time limit, and you move on.
Fall short, and it’s game over — for now. Those still determined to join the NYPD can get training and extra chances to pass the test, but you typically need to wait 90 days before you can retake it.
Easing up on fitness
If that sounds tough, know that it used to be tougher.
The NYPD has dramatically relaxed its fitness requirements in recent years, responding to a record wave of retirements and a shrinking pool of recruits.
In 2021, the department extended the original 3:28 time limit by nearly a full minute to give more candidates a shot.
In 2022, they swapped out a 6-foot faux wall for a more climb-friendly chain-link fence after a viral video showed out-of-shape, wannabe cops laughably trying — and failing — to scale it.
And in 2023, the NYPD ditched the 1.5-mile run, which had to be completed in 14:21 or less to graduate.
Training chief Juanita Holmes defended the decision to eliminate the timed run, arguing it wasn’t essential for police work and that it was preventing otherwise qualified candidates — particularly women — from moving forward.
“No cop on patrol runs a mile and a half,” she said. “No one’s chasing anyone a mile and a half. Not to mention every day in the gym you’re doing a mile and a half [as part of training].”
But the move sparked backlash from rank-and-file officers and retired law enforcement. One veteran Brooklyn cop called the decision “embarrassing,” pointing out that most recruits are in their early 20s.
Eugene O’Donnell, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who is also a former NYPD cop and Brooklyn and Queens prosecutor, told The Post in 2023 that the changes could endanger public safety.
“This is not being driven by some considered research,” O’Donnell said. “This is being driven by sheer desperation because you need somebody.”
