New PREP Test (ATS) - Effective October 31, 2015

[Irfanali Gulamhusein]

Just came across a posting from Applicant Testing Services, changes being made to the PREP test. See below for link and information from their website. Apologies if this is a re-post, I did perform a search prior to posting this.

I would assume that the respective police services will be also changing their PREP test practice runs? Not sure though.

NEW PREP Test - Effective October 31, 2015.

The Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police (PREP) test is going to be changing. Please see below for a detailed description.

Description: To be successful you must pass all components of the Physical Readiness Evaluation for Police (PREP) test, which includes:

Pursuit/Restraint Circuit, is made up of four 25 meter rotations. In the pursuit phase of the test, you will run four laps around a 25 metre (82 ft) circuit as quickly as possible for a total distance of 100 metres (328 ft), while wearing a 4kg (9 lb) soft weight belt around your waist and a 4kg (9 lb) vest to simulate the weight of standard police equipment. During the first and third rotations you will pull yourself up to look over a 1.9 metre (6.5 ft) fence with a toe hold, climb up and down a set of stairs, drop to the floor and crawl under a barrier of 61 cm (24 in). During the second and fourth rotations of the circuit; you will scale a 1.2 metre (4 ft) fence (with no toe-holds), climb up and down a set of stairs and then drop to the floor and crawl under a barrier of 61 cm (24 in), then go first to the Body Control Simulator and then to the Arm Restraint Simulator. Lastly, you will grasp a 77 kg (170 lb) mannequin by the handle behind the neck, and drag the mannequin a distance of 15 metres (50 ft) over a resistive mat and around pylons. The Pursuit/Restraint Circuit is scored as the total time from the start of the 100 metre (328 ft) circuit to the completion of the victim drag. For successful completion of the Pursuit/Restraint Circuit the time taken must be 157 seconds or less.

Aerobic Shuttle Run, evaluated by running back and forth over a 20-metre course in time with tape recorded signals. The time to cover the 20-metre course is shortened progressively until the participant is unable to maintain the pace or the standard is met. To successfully complete the minimum requirement of the aerobic fitness test you must achieve Stage 7.0 in the 20 metre Shuttle Run.

Source: http://www.applicanttesting.com/new-prep-test.html

[devilwoman]

The added weight of the vest and the added components are going to be very difficult for some.

Recruits going to Sept and Dec OPC intake must be breathing a sigh of relief with this not coming into effect til May.

[rntacp]

The added weight of the vest and the added components are going to be very difficult for some.

Recruits going to Sept and Dec OPC intake must be breathing a sigh of relief with this not coming into effect til May.

Really? You and I both know the level of fitness required for even the new PREP standards is a joke! Bring in the scoring system and let people with above average fitness stand out. This "meets standard" system is hogwash...

[devilwoman]

I'd much prefer a scoring system, tbh. Like the FIT PIN.

It would help people identify where they require improvement the most.

[Diatomic]

I hope it gets harder and harder, I'm young and fit so it won't affect me. The old folks tho,

[devilwoman]

Let's hope, for your sake, you get hired before you become one of those "old folks".

Being "young" and "fit" is usually very temporary.

[RemingtonSteel]

I hope it gets harder and harder, I'm young and fit so it won't affect me. The old folks tho,

I think you are missing the point of the fitness test and ATS testing in general.

Policing and other enforcement jobs are positions that require so many other skills to be successful, interpersonal, communication etc. The whole point of a fitness test for law enforcement, is not to determine who is an athlete and who isn't or even who is the fittest and who isn't. The idea is to demonstrate that you have a functional level of fitness in order to perform the job safely.

Having an extremely difficult fitness test would not necessarily produce better applicants, just fitter ones.

If one can do a level 7 shuttle run, they're fit enough in my opinion - I'm willing to bet you that most average joes off the street couldn't run a level 7 without training for it...... as for the older folks - sometimes a little life experience goes a long way to making someone a better officer. Don't knock the older folks just because of their age, I once worked with a bylaw officer who had spent over 30 years as a police officer and 15 years as a bylaw officer..... he was old but kept himself in decent shape, he's since retired but he has probably forgotten more about policing than most of us will ever know.

[Rescue]

I hope it gets harder and harder, I'm young and fit so it won't affect me. The old folks tho,

Being one of the "old folks," I'd like to give you a piece of advice should you come aboard. There's no room for arrogance in law enforcement on the good side.

Best of luck to ya down the road. Stay in shape.

[GoodWitness]

I hope it gets harder and harder, I'm young and fit so it won't affect me. The old folks tho,

Being one of the "old folks," I'd like to give you a piece of advice should you come aboard. There's no room for arrogance in law enforcement on the good side.

Best of luck to ya down the road. Stay in shape.

"No one who is young is ever going to be old."
John Steinbeck, East of Eden

[EhCP]

My father likes to say "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and exuberance every time."

[rangerDan]

I just did the new PREP and i gotta say that it is harder than the original. I failed it and i always passed the old PREP. It's a good test and I like it. Plus the way the push pull is it actually demonstrates what a struggle is kind of like pushing and pulling someone who is fighting you off. Kudos for it. Best of luck to everyone doing it.

[Uter]

Thanks for reporting on the new test rangerDan. I was waiting to see the reaction. Watching the video, I noticed the push/pull looks harder because of the extra energy involved in pushing in and pulling back repeatedly, rather than having the push/pull separated as before (smoother motions).

Were you over significantly or by few seconds? Did you notice others in the same situation?

[EhCP]

I did the new PREP on Saturday as well.

The push/pull does take more energy, but I actually found it easier because you can now do whatever you want with your feet whether you're pushing or pulling.

The assessor also gave a pretty good tip for the push/pull.

When switching from pulling to pushing, don't try to push the weight from the same stance you were pulling from, it takes more energy and you'll find yourself off balance. Take your time, drop the weight, take a step back, then start your push. It feels a little counter intuitive, but you actually have much better control.

The other comment I heard from a lot of the people there was it was tough getting up off the ground every circuit with the weighted belt and vest on, but I didn't find that too troubling personally.

Personally I was surprised by how resistive the resistive mat was. It slowed me down much more than I expected.

There did seem to be a higher proportion of unsuccessful people. Don't think anybody failed the shuttle run though.

[mack_silent]

I did the NEW ATS prep test and successfully passed.

The pursuit portion is slightly more difficult. Average person will add 5-20 seconds to their old time.
The shuttle run is about the same. Always aim to run to stage 9 or later in your training, and you'll do fine.

[alexgue89]

Good to know, it will be interesting to see how I do after a year of not doing ATS stuff, although I have been keeping up with my training.