The first police department promotions in nearly a decade could come by the end of the year, following test changes approved by the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Monday.

Police Chief Walter Armstrong said he’d like to promote at least two officers to sergeant and assign them as supervisors over two of four watch shifts now supervised by a rotating schedule of officers.

“Those positions are normally held by sergeants. In years past they’ve been held by sergeants, lieutenants and captains, but I don’t want to go down that road again right now,” said Armstrong.

With the changes, officers could begin taking the four-part promotional test in about a month, however, the process itself will take longer.

“It has to be properly advertised first for 30 days before we can begin the testing procedure, and then we have to go through that procedure, which I’d guess would take another three weeks,” said Vicksburg Civil Service Commission Chairman Joe Graham. “So, you’re looking at about two months before (Chief Armstrong) will even be in a position to consider promotions.”

Graham said the commission had been pressing former Police Chief Tommy Moffett, who was replaced by the mayor and aldermen by a 2-1 vote in July, to come up with a revised promotional testing procedure for about year before his departure. A promotion in the department had not been made for about a year before Moffett took office in the fall of 2001, he added.

“We were concerned that if you haven’t had a promotion in over seven years something is wrong,” said Graham. “We weren’t trying to get something and put it on the shelf. We wanted to see something happen.”

The test changes were “relatively minor,” Graham said, but nonetheless necessary. The four components of the test include a written exam, oral interview, personnel file review and practical test. Whereas all four categories were formally equally weighed at 25 percent of the total score, the written test will now carry the most weight, 40 percent, while the oral exam will account for 25 percent, the review 20 percent and the practical exam 15 percent.

“We want people who can take a written test and pass it — and it’s got to be worth a little more than 25 percent,” said Graham, noting all of the changes came following a public hearing in March.

Minimum qualifications needed to take a promotional test were also loosened. All officers testing for a promotion to sergeant will have to have been an officer for at least three years and have been on the Vicksburg force for two. Formerly, four total years’ experience with three of them in Vicksburg was that minimum.

Similar changes have been made to the requirements for further promotions to lieutenant and captain. However, Armstrong said he is not planning on making any such promotions at this time.

Officers who pass are not guaranteed a promotion, however, their names remain on a list of eligibles for one year. Armstrong said the push for promotions could aid his efforts to increase the number of officers on the force, but added that’s not the intent.

“We’re not trying to promote to attract or retain people; we’re promoting because there’s a need for first-line supervisors,” the chief said. “But at the same time, I think the added benefit is our officers can see that there is some upward movement taking place. If I came to work for a department and worked there eight years and didn’t get promoted or see anyone else promoted I would have some concerns about the decision I made.”

There are approximately 68 to 70 officers on the force, said Armstrong, including six candidates who are scheduled to graduate from the academy on Sept. 10. Slightly more than 100 officers were on the payroll when Moffett took over, and he immediately begin trimming the ranks due to what he saw as a top-heavy structure with too many supervisors.

Like Moffett, Armstrong wants to increase the number of officers to 85 to 90, but said he’s been “very discouraged” by the low number of candidates who are meeting the minimum qualifications to join the force.

“These peoples’ backgrounds are killing them,” he said, noting a pool of 38 candidates for the next police academy session has already been whittled down to fewer than 16, with more hurdles still to clear. “It can range anywhere from being terminated for jobs for various reasons to receiving stolen property or domestic stuff or drug offenses; things that we cannot justify going forward with the process after learning.”

•

Contact Steve Sanoski at ssanoski@vicksburgpost.com