WEIGHT PROBLEM THINNING OUT RANKS OF US POLICE

America's police departments are facing a recruitment crisis, because so
many applicants have either used drugs or are overweight.

Many of the "grunge" generation have grown up doing little exercise and
experimenting with cocaine, heroin and methamphetamines. Forces from
Arizona to New York City are considering candidates who can barely stagger
through the one-and-a-half mile run and who admit to having smoked dope.

"We're not talking outlandish, Olympic-qualifying events here," Bill
Powers, Chicago police Commander, told USA Today. "It's a mile-and-a-half
run, some sit-ups and stretching. They even have time to prepare. That's
what shocks me."

A large percentage of candidates, from 30 pc in Chicago to 80 pc in
Baltimore are eliminated because they either admit to having used drugs
recently or are caught out lying about some event from their past.
Applicants who would never have been considered a few years ago, are now
serious candidates. Arizona recently spent thousands of dollars on a
recruitment drive in California, but attracted only 22 candidates.

Katherine Beck (27), the only woman among the surviving candidates, had a
drug conviction from 1994 and had been arrested for alleged public
drunkenness three years ago.