Public Health Enforcement: Can It Be Justified?

A s i a n B i o e t h i c s R e v i e w M a r c h 2 0 0 9 Vo l u m e 1 , I s s u e 1 54 Public Health Enforcement: Can It Be Justified? Operation Pot Belly: Dealing with Obesity in the Police Force A few years ago, the National Police of one Asian country set up a six-month fitness campaign for its 113,000 members. The most noticeable feature of the campaign was to reduce the waistline of police officers to a maximum of 36 inches. Twice a week, the officers were required to do aerobic exercises, timed jogs, push-ups and pull-ups. Those who served in the northern part of the country were asked to do mountain climbing at least once a month. There were regular command-sponsored mass exercises and ballroom dancing. Those who were keen to do so could take diet pills or undergo liposuction at their own expense. The campaign was implemented regardless of rank and gender. Those who failed to reach the 36-inch goal after six months were to be relieved from their post, and eventually were to be laid off from their job if they did not manage to trim down on the ninth month. The campaign was meant to improve the physical condition of the police officers for better performance in combating crimes. But it was also set by the senior members of the force to correct the popular image of the police officer as a lazy, pot-bellied person whose excessive eating was made possible by illicit income from graft and corrupt practices. The senior officers needed to rectify the public’s image of policemen and policewomen as persons who could not run after criminals because of their being overweight. Public response to the fitness campaign was varied. Some criticised the programme for being based on an unwarranted generalisation that gave rise to an unfair and distorted image of police officers. They added that the programme did not address the real core of the problem — the lazy and corrupt practices C A S E C O R N E R 54–55 Asian Bioethics Review March 2009 Volume 1, Issue 1 55 P u b l i c H e a l t h E n f o r c e m e n t L a l a i n e S i r u n o of the members of the police force. Moreover, they held that the public’s perception was not likely to change because of a simple reduction of police officers’ waistlines. On the other hand, supporters included those who shared the goal of the fitness programme, which they also viewed as a means of instilling discipline and competence in carrying out police work. Lalaine Siruno ...