While physical fitness remains a priority for the Lynchburg Police Department, we believe these specific requirements may unintentionally exclude otherwise qualified candidates, especially as agencies across the Commonwealth compete to attract the most capable individuals to the profession. We are concerned that these standards, as currently written, may hinder our ability to recruit and hire the best possible candidates to serve the City of Lynchburg. We recommend that participation in this physical fitness course be required for training academies, but that the successful completion of such course is not required for graduating from the academy, and that it is not required to obtain DCJS law enforcement officer certification.