EU court: Police height limit may discriminate against women

BRUSSELS – Europe’s top court has ruled that setting a blanket minimum height requirement for all police academy recruits could be considered discrimination against women.

The European Court of Justice said that fixing a minimum height for all candidates “constitutes indirect sex discrimination since it works to the disadvantage of far more women than men.”

Wednesday’s ruling came after a Greek woman took action because she was denied entry to an academy for being shorter than 1.70 metres (5 feet 7 inches).

The court said the requirement would not constitute discrimination if there was an objective reason for it like the proper functioning of police services.

The court noted that some police functions require the use of physical force, but that others like providing assistance would not.