The number of Federal Police officers who failed to meet weight requirements to join the National Guard is as high as 1,300, according to audio files leaked to the newspaper Reforma.

The new federal security force, which is in the process of absorbing the Federal Police, requires its officers to have a body mass index between 18.5 and 27.9. People with a BMI above 25 are considered overweight.

In the leaked audio, an unnamed Federal Police commander tells a group officers who failed the requirements that they will be able to keep their Federal Police positions for two months, giving them time to slim down and take another shot at joining the new security force.

“It’s not mandatory, of course not, it’s a very respectable personal issue,” the commander said.

But at least 650 overweight officers who chose to be temporarily commissioned by the National Immigration Institute (INM) will need to complete the commission before they can apply again to join the National Guard. The INM commissions are expected to last between five and six months.

The commander also said that if more Federal Police officers are found to be too heavy for the Guard, they may not get the second opportunity that is being given to the first 1,300.

“You are the few personnel who are going to have this chance,” he said. “People from the next division that moves over to the National Guard who don’t meet the requirements, they aren’t going to get another chance.”

The overweight officers also have the opportunity of being commissioned by the Federal Protection Service, which provides security services to federal agencies and institutions.

To join the National Guard, officers must be directly incorporated from another security force, or apply as a civilian. The Guard does not accept applications from former members of police or military forces.

On Monday, a group of family members of the overweight Federal Police officers who were commissioned by the INM protested in front of the National Palace in Mexico City, complaining about poor working conditions for the officers.

Source: Reforma (sp)