The Duluth Police Department has named a female to take the position as the next Police Chief. Colonel Jacquelyn Carruth has been the Deputy Chief for the last eight years and is a 25-year-veteran of the department.
According to the AJC, this will be the first female chief in the department's 100-year history. Carruth will also be one of only about three percent of female police chiefs in the state.
During her time with the Duluth Police Department, Carruth has worked in nearly every area within the police department, including administration, patrol, community policing, the Criminal Investigations Division, and Special Operations. According to the City of Duluth website, “For over two decades, Colonel Carruth has been working her way through the ranks while focusing on developing her leadership skills.”
Carruth will be taking over after Chief Randy Belcher announced his retirement. Belcher, who has been at the department for more than 46 years, will retire effective July 22. While Chief Belcher was in the position, the department rose from 16 employees to a state-accredited agency with a staff of 91. He was also the department’s first-ever to attend and graduate from the FBI National Academy in Virginia in 1991.
Chief Belcher was also instrumental in the creation of a camera monitoring program, as well as several programs such as Citizens on Patrol, Coffee and Conversation with a Cop, Citizens Police Academy, Hispanic Citizens Police Academy, and Youth Police Academy programs.
