Retired Major Ruth Price was appointed to the Atlanta Citizen Review Board (ACRB) by Ceasar C. Mitchell, President of the Atlanta City Council. The appointment was confirmed by the City Council on September 6, 2011 for a term of three (3) years effective on the date of confirmation.
Ms. Price attended Georgia State University where she majored in Special Education. She is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ms. Price began a career in law enforcement with the Atlanta Police Department (APD). During her career, she rose through the ranks working a variety of assignments. She advanced from patrol officer, investigator, sergeant and lieutenant. She was assigned to the Field Operations Division, Criminal Investigations Division and the Office of Professional Standards. She was an investigator in the Sex Crimes Unit, Narcotics Unit and Vice Unit. Upon being promoted to Sergeant, she was reassigned to the Sex Crimes Unit. She later served as a Sergeant in Zone Four. Her second assignment as Sergeant was in the Office of Professional Standards. In 1990, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and assigned as the first female Watch Commander in the Field Operations Division, Zone Three. In 1994, she returned to the Criminal Investigations Division and was assigned to the Youth Squad.
In 1995, she was appointed to the rank of Major by former Chief of Police, Beverly J. Harvard. The same year, she was named Supervisor of the Year. Upon being appointed to the rank of Major, she was given the task of implementing the first Family Violence Section in the Department. The section included investigating crimes against children, runaways, domestic violence, and any criminal incidents involving Atlanta Public School students. She managed a half million dollars federal grant and trained social workers to assist family experiencing domestic violence with a 3% recidivist rate a year later. Major Price retired from the Atlanta Police Department in January 1998.
In 1999, she was employed by the Department of Juvenile Justice. In this capacity, she assisted in implementing an Office of Quality Assurance. In 2003, she was hired as a subcontractor for the Transportation Security Agency as a training assessor. This assignment involved teaching baggage screeners how to identify improvised explosive devises. In 2006-2008, Ms. Price was employed as a Restorative Justice Specialist with the City of Atlanta Municipal Court, Community Court Division.
Retired Major Price is an active member of Ben Hill United Methodist Church. She is married to a retired Atlanta police officer and they have six grown daughters and three grown sons. In addition to her new appointment to the ACRB, she serves as a board member of the Police Athletic League. Her philosophy is: “Law enforcement can be the most successful change agent. However, if community policing is to be successful, we must identify the needs of the community. In order to change the community, we must change the families and the lives of our children.”