NCJ Number
93051
Journal
Journal of California Law Enforcement Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (1982) Pages: 119-126
Date Published
1982
Length
8 pages
Annotation
A sampling of California sheriff and police departments reveals that age standards (minimum entry level age, mandatory retirement age, and maximum entry level age) are inconsistent throughout the State, and often there is little rational basis for many of the requirements.
Abstract
If a police department's age requirement is challenged in court, the burden is placed on that department to prove that its age standard is based on a 'bonafide occupation qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business...,' and the rationale for the standard must be more than untested assumptions, stereotypes, and tradition; it must be supported by data and expert testimony. There are three age requirements pertaining to law enforcement personnel: minimum entry level age, mandatory retirement age, and maximum entry level age. Virtually no conclusive research has been done with respect to an appropriate minimum entry age. The popular standard of 21 is based entirely on myth and tradition. The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the validity of a mandatory retirement age in two cases. Accordingly, a strong case can be made for this standard. The actual age, however, at which retirement should be required is open to debate. Maximum entry age is the most controversial of the three standards and so is in immediate need of further systematic research and analysis. The maximum entry age for California law enforcement should be at least 40. Raising the limit still further might well be appropriate and is centainly the trend in California, but a standard beyond 40 also suggests that there should be a mandatory annual medical exam for all officers and an ongoing departmental physical fitness program. Age standards for the various California departments surveyed are provided, along with graphs showing costs per work accident according to age, sick leave according to age, and general population data on percent of all deaths due to cardiovascular diseases by age in the United States for 1976. Thirteen footnotes are provided.