NATCHEZ — Despite increased interest in jobs at Natchez Police Department, only two of 16 recent applicants remain eligible to become officers.

Natchez Police Chief Walter Armstrong said a total of 16 people applied and were eligible to take the department’s written test.

“This is the first time in a very long time that we had so many to show interest in taking the test,” Armstrong said.

But come test time on Feb. 2, only seven took the exam, and just two passed.

The department has between eight and 10 slots to fill, and Armstrong said at least two current officers are mulling over retirement.

Armstrong lamented the fact that though the number of applicants had grown from times past since he became chief last year, many applicants neglected to show up for the written exam.

“We’re talking about nine more individuals that could have been testing that chose not to show up,” Armstrong said. “There’s an old saying, ‘You can lead a horse to the water, but you can’t make him drink.’”

The lack of officers mainly affects the department’s ability to adequately maintain adequate control of the city.

Armstrong said NPD currently has approximately five to seven officers patrolling the streets at any given time, far less than his ideal concept of a staff.

“We would like to see somewhere between eight to 10 officers patrolling the streets of Natchez on any given day, especially at night,” Armstrong said.

The two men who passed the written exam also passed a physical test, Armstrong said. The next steps will be an oral interview before the Civil Service Commission next month, as well as a psych evaluation and background check. If either pass those steps, they would then go through the police academy and a field training program before becoming full-fledged officers. The entire process takes approximately a year before an officer is ready to fully assume his or her duties, Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the number people interested in the job resulted from the ramped-up recruiting efforts of his department, but he said the number of those who passed the test leaves much to be desired.

“Third time in less than a year and our net gain is extremely low, which is a reason to be concerned,” Armstrong said.

The chief said he plans to review this most recent round of applications to see if any patterns are apparent that might help his recruiting strategy, but he said the city would likely need a more macro-level change to make the job more appealing before results improve.

“We’ve got to get back to the table (with our elected officials) to see what else can be done,” Armstrong said.

Still, Armstrong said he does not support lowering the entry requirements for becoming a police officer, which could potentially diminish the quality of officers entering the force.

Both Natchez Mayor Darryl Grennell and Ward 2 Alderman Billie Joe Frazier, who serves as the city’s police committee chairman, have said in the past that they also do not believe lowering the requirements would be a wise decision.