The Gwinnett County Police Department is looking for candidates to fill 50 vacant officer positions and 20 vacant communications officer (911 and police dispatch operator) positions. You can get a jump start on the application process at a December hiring event.

The recruiting event will be held on Dec. 2 and 3 at the Gwinnett Police Training Center, located at 854 Winder Highway in Lawrenceville. Both days will last from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

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Applicants for police officer positions will go through a significant portion of the hiring process in one day, and it will take a few hours, a department release said. Officer applicants will go through an orientation, physical fitness assessment and panel interview. Communications applicants will complete a data entry exam and a panel interview. Applicants for all jobs will also submit information that will allow the department to start the background check process.

Attending the hiring event will speed up the application process, the release said. The department held a similar hiring event in August, at which 300 people applied for jobs and 57 were given conditional job offers. The department had 100 officer vacancies and 20 communications vacancies before the August hiring event.

Starting pay for Gwinnett County police officer trainees is $37,156 for those without a bachelor’s degree and $39,385 for those with a bachelor’s degree. Starting salary for communications officers is $34,748. Within a year, officer trainees are promoted to the rank of police officer senior as long as they have completed police academy and field training. That promotion comes with a salary increase to $41,538 for an officer without a bachelor’s degree and $44,030 for an officer with a bachelor’s degree.

Interested applicants can pre-register for the December hiring event at gwinnettpolicejobs.com.

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The woman's 18-month-old son was nearby during the incident.