Hiring
The Gwinnett County Police Department will hold a local hiring event on Friday, Nov. 13, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the Gwinnett County Police Training Center, 854 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. According to the county’s job posting, applicants who attend can complete the entire first phase of the department’s two-phase hiring process in one visit, and conditional job offers may be given during the event.
The posting, listed on Gwinnett County’s online careers portal on Tuesday, Oct. 20, is for full-time merit Police Officer positions at pay grade PL213. It was still open when the portal was checked at about 13:30 UTC on Monday, Nov. 2. A hiring event is a recruiting step, not a count of hires, and the county has not said how many officers it expects to hire from it.
What happens at the event
Attendees will take a physical ability test made up of push-ups, sit-ups and a 300-meter run, sit through an orientation, fill out a more detailed application and complete an oral interview. The county says the process typically takes two to three hours and may take longer. It suggests bringing water and a snack, and notes that part of the event will take place outside.
Candidates are asked to submit an online application first. Once it is received, an investigator will call to schedule an appointment time. Walk-ins without appointments are welcome, but the posting warns that their wait may be longer.
Requirements and pay
The posting’s minimum qualifications are a high school diploma or GED, U.S. citizenship (required to be eligible for Georgia P.O.S.T. certification), a valid driver’s license from the applicant’s state of residency, and a comprehensive background investigation covering criminal history, controlled substances, driving, work history and physical agility. Applicants must be 21, and may apply at 20. The job requires a pre-employment drug test and random drug and alcohol testing afterward, and the county classifies it as medium physical work, with occasional exertion of up to 50 pounds of force.
Starting pay is listed at $55,923. Officers with an associate degree can earn $57,600 through a 3% education incentive, and those with a bachelor’s degree $59,278 through a 6% incentive. The posting also lists a hiring incentive of up to 10% of base salary for new hires and a 5% night-shift differential. The county’s police jobs page says recruits receive full pay while they train and a take-home car. Officers should expect on-call assignments, overtime, weekend and holiday work, and 10-hour, 12-hour and rotating shifts.
After the first phase
The department’s hiring-process page says Phase II includes a physical exam with drug screening, psychological testing and the testing Georgia P.O.S.T. requires, which can be met with SAT, ACT, ASSET, CPE or Accuplacer results. Final offers come only after both phases. Because of the background investigation, the county says the process frequently takes 45 to 90 days.
People who are hired then go through the police academy and, if they succeed there, field training with veteran officers. The department runs three basic academies a year but onboards new recruits every two weeks, temporarily assigning those hired before an academy start to other positions in the department. Applicants who are rejected cannot reapply for at least one year.
Georgia’s Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, which certifies officers, asks agencies to submit candidates’ entrance exam results, proof of age, citizenship and education, fingerprints, a psychological evaluation and a physician’s physical exam affidavit before a basic training course begins.
Experienced officers
Officers who are already certified apply through a separate lateral-entry posting rather than the hiring event. That posting requires two consecutive years of certified field experience handling 911 calls at an agency with 20 or more sworn employees, no break in service longer than two years, and current police certification. Its listed pay range is $62,520 to $92,546 before education incentives.
The county’s general police employment page still advertised a September hiring event when it was checked Monday. The November dates and event details above come from the county’s own job posting on its careers portal.
Sources
- Gwinnett County Government, “Gwinnett County Police Officer November Local Hiring Event” (requisition 1000116), posted October 20, 2026. https://ibphjb.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/gwinnett/job/1000116
- Gwinnett County Government, “Police Officer – Lateral Entry” (requisition 1000012), posted September 21, 2026. https://ibphjb.fa.ocs.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/CandidateExperience/en/sites/gwinnett/job/1000012
- Gwinnett County Police Department, “Hiring Process,” accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/police/jobs/hiring-process
- Gwinnett County Police Department, “Employment – Police,” accessed November 2, 2026. https://www.gwinnettcounty.com/government/departments/police/jobs
- Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, “Basic Certifications,” accessed November 2, 2026. https://gapost.org/certification-requirements/basic-certifications/
Featured photo: The Gwinnett County Government Annex Building in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Representative image; not the Gwinnett County Police Training Center, where the hiring event will be held. Photo: Northwalker, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0). Cropped from the original.
