German Court Outlaws Height Rules for Police as Unfair

BERLIN (AP) — A court has nixed the minimum height requirement for police recruits in Germany’s most populous state, arguing that it is unfair to men.

The case was brought by a female applicant who was rejected because she is 161.5 centimeters (5 feet 3 inches) tall.

That’s 1.5 centimeters shorter than the minimum height required of women, which is 163 centimeters. Male police recruits in North Rhine-Westphalia state have to be at least 168 centimeters tall.

Duesseldorf administrative court judges noted Tuesday that the state’s differing height requirements were introduced to correct the gender imbalance among applicants, which is skewed toward men.

In disqualifying the height requirement for men, the court automatically eliminated it for women too.

The court ordered authorities to reinstate the application of the 22-year-old plaintiff, Johanna Fee Dillmann.