GARDEN CITY, Ga. (WSAV) — The Georgia Ports Authority Police Department is looking to hire new officers, and it comes with competitive pay.

Sixty additional positions are open which beefs up the already existing 200-member force.

Kevin Doyle, Vice President of Protective Services, says new hires will help them with patrol.

“We come in contact with anything a traditional municipal police department would come in contact with,” Doyle says. “We handle traffic. We handle traffic collisions and criminal activity, albeit a very small amount of that. We also do patrol, which is a very common police function, obviously, but we respond to calls. We even go outside of our gates.”

His staff helps local police departments within a one-mile radius.

The reason for these new positions is not high turnover, but because of the growth in business and infrastructure at the ports.

“We are in the midst, organizationally, of a significant growth and physical expansion. We’re expecting business to increase along with that physical expected expansion, which will include additional locations, expanding the current locations better, and preparing them for our operation in the future.”

Once hired, new officers will receive a minimum of $31.20 an hour if they have at least one year of experience as a certified Georgia police officer.

“Our professionals assure me, it is very competitive, if not the best,” Doyle says.

There is no deadline to fill those 60 positions.

“It’s a little bit fluid. We have a certain number of openings. We’re looking for qualified applicants. We’re looking to engage in what we do specifically, and that takes a while so we don’t have a hard timeline,” Doyle says. “I think those who do traditional police work, virtually all the ones that come here, find it an enjoyable experience. We have an incredibly low turnover as a result of that.”

If you are interested in applying, the department is hosting a job fair on November 3rd at 100 Main Street in Garden City. You can also apply here.