General Chat

Hi , I was a Pc for 2 yrs and I'm only 5'6'' tall and with the training and equipment you can bring a 6'6'' giant down without resorting to belting him/her with the baton or using pepper spray ( which came in after I left) just by using certain pressure points on the body. I enjoyed the fun and seriousness of the job and trying to keep our streets safe I only had to give the job up because I moved from England to scotland and I failed probably on age as I was on the age limit when I applied. My motto is if you want to do something then go for it. And regarding the Height etc all this was dropped because the Police Services were losing out on good officers because of their height etc and now the average population height has/is dropping to according to scientists.. Best wishes Tim

Brian, When I joined the police in 1955 our local height was 6ft 1 inch(Nottingham was higher). This was graduaslly reduced to 5ft 8 in when we amalgamated with Lancashire police. the height for ladies was 5ft 4 ins. A few weeks ago, I had a similar experience to you. this bobby was so titchy that I looked at his number to check he was real. He was and also was 5ft 4 ins. I tackled him a about it and he said, 'they take women at 5ft 4 so now they have got to to take men. Doesn,t fill you with confidence, but with radios and back up, it,s not as bad as it would have been when you were completely on your own. Happy days

Bryan, my husbands brother was a very small man and, he was a VERY strong man. Perhaps they are paying more attention to that nowadays? Dont forget they built an entire Scottish Regiment on a generation of small Glasgow boys. Deanna ;-0)

It's not the height that worries me but the fact that they all look so young! I must be getting old!

Slightly off message, but you may all be pleased to know that RAF fighter pilots do still have to have 20/20 (now 6/6) vision as my poor son found out two weeks ago! He is marginally shortsighted, so marginal that he will NEVER need glasses for it apparently, but still too much for the RAF and the other forces. Back on message, I think that where it may hinder someone's ability to do the job, perhaps height etc should be taken into consideration, but how do you determine it? Being small does not mean you have no strength and policemen and women are trained to deal with situations that most of us do not have to face. Daisy

Yes, Brian, you may well be getting old, but look what fantastic company you're in, with the rest of us on here! LoL CB >|< X

Hi Em Never mind old girl. Move over and make room on the couch! Now it all started when............ Aileen

They can wear glasses but not contact lenses and the height restriction doesnt matter anymore Linda

Heights got nothing to do with it. I know a policeman who is shorter than me, (I'm 5'6') Apart from him being a black belt in Judo, policeman are given excellant training in combat. So I would personally feel very safe with a 5ft policeman. Jo.

Bryan , As the message is slipping down, thought i,d give you a little anecdote from about 1960. We had a charming young lady who wanted to join our borough police. We measured her, 5ft 3 and 3 quarters. she was rejected as just too short, and burst into tears. Came back the next two years with the same result. On the fourth, I ruffled her hair upwards and brougth the board down gently to her hair. 5ft 4 exactly. She served five years before leaving to get married etc. No-one would attempt to do that kind of thing in this day and age. happy days

Spoke to a (scruffy) PC in town this afternoon. He says there is no longer any restrictions on height, tall or short. sounds daft to me. happy days

harry,i dont believe this...we must be psychic...you know wot ime talking about lol. bryan.