GWINNETT COUNTY, GA — Gwinnett County commissioners have approved a major expansion of a program designed to help police officers focus on emergencies and other high-priority calls.

Commissioners approved 12 additional community service aide positions, bringing the total number of authorized positions to 18. Six aides are already serving in the program.

The aides are not sworn police officers and cannot respond to major crimes, but they can assist with a variety of non-emergency duties.

“Traffic direction, missing persons report, witness canvassing, video evidence collection, and property crime reporting,” Gwinnett County Police Chief James McClure said.

McClure said the program allows sworn officers to remain available for emergencies, violent crime response, proactive patrols, traffic enforcement and community engagement.

“Every call handled by our community service aid, is a call that allows a police officer to remain available for emergencies, violent crime response, proactive patrol, traffic enforcement, and community engagement,” McClure said.

According to the police department, response times at the county’s Central Precinct dropped by about 20% after the first six aides were deployed.

McClure said community service aides handled 865 calls for service during the first quarter of 2026, accounting for approximately 13% of all police calls during the times they were on duty.

McClure also said the aides require less training and cost less than sworn officers in terms of salaries, training and equipment.

“This program allows us to increase service levels, improve our response times, and free officers to focus on higher priority public safety responsibilities,” McClure said.

The additional positions will allow the program to expand throughout the county.

WSB Radio’s Keith Cromwell contributed to this story.