Duluth to make history with city' first female chief of police
Colonel JacquelynCarruth (Duluth Police Department)
DULUTH, Ga. - The City of Duluth will make history in July when it swears in the first female Chief of the city's police department.
After serving over 46 years with the Duluth Police Department, including 38 as chief, Police Chief Randy Belcher announced his plans to retire in July. In his time as chief, Belcher saw the law enforcement organization grow from a 16-person department to one that employs over 90 people today.
In a statement, the city says it plans to replace Belcher with his deputy chief, Col. Jacquelyn Carruth.
Carruth, a 25-year veteran of the Duluth Police Department, will be the first female chief of police in the organization's 100-year history and one of the around 3% of Georgia police chiefs who are female.
Officials say Carruth was hired in 1996 and has worked in almost every area of the department. She's a graduate of the FBI National Academy and was a member of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange Program.
Chief Randy Belcher (Duluth Police Department)
"Col. Carruth plans to continue building on the solid foundation that Chief Belcher has already set in place," the Duluth Police Department said in a statement. "Her focus will be on maintaining high standards of policing, continuing and expanding the department’s crime-fighting capabilities through the use of technology, and continuing to find ways to build positive relationships with all members of our community."