LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln’s police chief says there are many challenges in recruiting good candidates, illustrated by the fact that only 16 out of 335 applicants since April made it to training.

Chief Jeff Bliemeister will be looking for a deeper and more diverse pool of applicants in the future.

According to Bliemeister, recruitment challenges include making sure applicants meet certain qualifications, such as not having criminal convictions with sentences of a year or more, a written test of basic education and the physical fitness test.

Bliemeister says the department is working with the city’s Human Resources staff on recruiting ideas and that law enforcement clubs have been started in high schools.