(Lawrenceville, Ga., October 4, 2022) – The Gwinnett Police Department Training Center will celebrate 50 years of operation on October 10, 2022. Only four other police departments in Georgia operate their own training academy and Gwinnett was the first county police department to open an academy in Georgia. Our academy is certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) and recently earned separate accreditation from the Commission for Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA).

In 1972, the Gwinnett Police Training Center held its first classes in its temporary home in the chapel at the Gwinnett Correctional Institute. In 1978, the operation moved to the newly constructed police headquarters building off Hi Hope Rd. The staff consisted of the Training Director, two instructors, and a civilian administrative employee. They had one classroom and some office space at headquarters as well as a ten-lane indoor firing range. 

The academy remained at headquarters until 1996 when it moved to Buford, housed in a former elementary school. In May 2007, the Gwinnett Police Training Center opened a new 35-acre facility in Lawrenceville, built from the ground up, utilizing SPLOST funds. The facility includes an academic building, an indoor firing range, and a 15-acre driver’s training track. The academic building has six classrooms, a gym, a physical training room, conference room, and staff offices.

The academy continues to expand today. Last year, construction began on a new building that will be attached to the current academic building. Once completed, all recruit training will take place there with new classroom space, a large amphitheater, and additional staff offices. The current academic building will be used exclusively for continuing education for officers and civilian staff.

Our academy runs year-round, often with multiple academy classes going on at once. When first established, the academy ran one class per year. Now we run up to three classes per year and we are currently hiring for the 115^th academy class. Recruits in our academy receive 408 hours of Basic Mandate Training, required by the state of Georgia and they get an additional 460 hours of advanced training. The Gwinnett Police Department takes great pride in the training that we provide to recruit officers and we believe they are some of the best trained officers in the state. The academy is also responsible for providing annual training for existing officers and staff as required by the state. Officers qualify with their firearms four times a year and get 20 hours of continuing education over the course of the year. We also offer all the classes needed for officers to obtain their Intermediate and Advanced Certificates from POST and offer a variety of other advanced certifications such as General Instructor Certification, Firearms Instructor, EVOC (driver training) Instructor, and many others. Civilian staff receive training at the facility as well, including the Basic Communications Officer Course for 911 dispatchers, Crime Scene Investigation training, and many more.     

There are a multitude of benefits to operating our own training facility, not the least of which is that better trained officers provide better service to our residents. We also save money by offering training in-house at a centrally located facility, cutting down on travel costs, fees, and overtime for training offered outside our agency. As our community continues to grow and change, so does our agency, and our training facility is able to introduce new and cutting-edge techniques to our officers as we evolve to meet the needs of our community.

We are hiring! To apply, visit GwinnettPoliceJobs.com!