- For six months now, people over the age of 39 have been allowed to apply to the police in the cities of Zurich and Winterthur.
- In Zurich, 21 people have made use of it so far. In Winterthur there are four.
- The police speak of a “step in the right direction” to address the shortage of skilled workers.
For a long time, the age limit of 39 years was sacrosanct in both city police departments. There were concerns that older people would not be able to keep up physically. At the Zurich Cantonal Police, for example, the age limit still applies.
But in Zurich and Winterthur it became increasingly difficult to find enough young people with the traditional requirements. That’s why people who have turned 40 have recently been welcomed. An opportunity that some people apparently want to take advantage of.
Legend:
If you want to hunt criminals, you have to be fit. The same high requirements therefore apply to older applicants. (posed situation)
Keystone/Urs Flüeler
In the last six months 146 people applied to the Zurich City Police, says spokesman Marc Surber. 21 of them were older than 40 years. That corresponds to 14 percent. This is “very gratifying,” says Surber: “We managed to appeal to people who are older than 40 and who have the potential to become a police officer.”
In Winterthur there were only four people, but spokesman Michael Wirz is still satisfied and sees the reduced age barrier as a plus for the future: “A certain amount of life experience is useful in order to become a police officer.” In addition, many are very fit even over 60.
People are fit well into their 60s and are able to do demanding jobs.
The applicants are now in the middle of the application process. In addition to exams in German and mathematics, there is, among other things, a memory test, a medical examination, an assessment and of course the big sports test: trunk bends, pull-ups, various obstacle courses and a 3000-meter run. “The application procedure is the same for all applicants,” says Marc Surber. “Everyone has to meet the same requirements.”
Not all applicants overcome all of these hurdles, neither the younger nor the older ones. Of the 21 people over 40, half are currently still in the race, says Marc Surber from the Zurich city police. A completely normal process: “If we can employ half of them at the end, we will have a high quota.”
Removing the age limit is probably not a magic solution to solving the shortage of skilled workers in the police. But, says Surber, “a step in the right direction.”