Those people who spend any time around a police scanner come to an understanding. Listen long enough and there will be a foot chase with a law enforcement officer in pursuit of a criminal suspect. From the breathy radio communications of the person using foot power to serve the public good, you get an immediate sense of the physical demands of that profession.

First, abandon the jokes. The notion of cops with an unnatural affinity to doughnuts is as cliched as doctors frequenting the golf course or lawyers hanging around the ambulance bay. Most law enforcers come to the job in good shape and recognize quickly that the rigors of their work require them to stay that way. Note to criminals: Muscling up on these officers and taking flight are two bad ideas.

Still, the efforts of local departments to reinforce the concept of good conditioning make good sense.

The superintendent of the Missouri State Highway Patrol recently put his troopers through their paces in a fitness kick. More than 120 Highway Patrol officers in this part of the state took part, doing push-ups and sit-ups, running a dash and for distance and performing vertical leaps. The regimen looked a lot like the fitness requirements they faced on becoming troopers.

The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Department and the St. Joseph Police Department also have programs or are starting programs that encourage fitness among their employees. The county qualifications included lap running, hurdle clearing, weight hauling and wall scaling, completion of the course measured against a stopwatch. City police officials are looking at different departments around the country, trying to identify a reasonable model for the promotion of worker health.

Endeavors like these have positive effects not just for the individuals involved but for the general welfare. Law enforcement officers who better handle the physical nature of their work are better positioned to safeguard the public. On the matter of public dollar stewardship, they also stand a better chance of saving money for the taxpayers who underwrite their health insurance. In addition, well-conditioned officers in the “to protect and serve” universe can serve as role models in a nation where the prevalence of obesity among teens has more than tripled since 1976.

Citizen appreciation never seems enough for the demanding work of law enforcement men and women, who run toward criminals when others gladly run away. The efforts to promote fitness among these public safety workers also need commendation.