Chief James Craig in Detroit police car.jpg

Detroit Police Chief James Craig

(Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

Detroit's new Police Chief James Craig was introduced to the media during a press conference with Mayor Bing and Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr Wednesday, May 15. Craig, a native of Detroit is "coming home" after serving in the Los Angeles, Portland and Maine police departments before becoming chief in Cincinnati in 2011. (Tanya Moutzalias | MLive.com)

DETROIT, MI -- MLive readers will have a unique opportunity Thursday to communicate directly with Detroit Police Chief James E. Craig, head of Michigan's largest police department.

Craig will be answering reader questions during a one-hour live chat scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. Thursday.

Although Craig has made himself available to questions from the general public at numerous public meetings, this is the first time he's doing so at a statewide level.

Craig, a 57-year-old Detroit native, returned to his hometown to take the helm of the 2,000-plus officer department in July of 2013. Since that time he's made a number of changes that have led to crime reduction, as well as an increase in officer morale and a boost in public confidence.

Since coming to Detroit, Craig has, among other actions and initiatives:

Reversed his predecessor's poorly received decision to put officers on 12-hour shifts

Reopened neighborhood headquarters and discontinued the "virtual precincts" that removed around-the-clock staff from precincts throughout the city

Implemented a neighborhood policing program

Commenced numerous large-scale and public raids targeting drug houses and at-large criminals

Privatized dispatch operations

Begun weekly CompStat meetings to target high-crime areas and hold commanders responsible

Eliminated personal security positions for the Mayor's Office and City Council

Increased the number of officers enrolled in the Police Academy

Voiced his support for "law-abiding citizens" to carry guns and use them for their own protection

Opened lines of communication with the public through increased media access

Despite this, Craig's job is far from done.

Homicides, carjackings, robberies, theft and shootings continue to impact daily life in Detroit, which remained for the fifth year consecutively the most violent city in America per capita among those with a population of 200,000 or more in 2012, the most recent year for which the FBI has release complete crime data.

Figures for 2013, six months of which Craig led the department, are expected to come out within the next month.

Coming into Detroit, Craig said he hoped to reduce violent crime, including homicide, rape, robbery, assault and shootings, by 5 percent.

By the end of 2013, Craig said those crime categories declined by 7 percent. He elevated the reduction goal to 10 percent for the present year and said there was a 15 percent reduction through the first quarter.

More impressive is the homicide closure rate, calculated to be about 11 percent when Craig arrived. Through a restructuring of the Homicide Department, he increased that figure to 50 percent by the end of 2013 and claimed a 97 percent clearance rate into the first quarter of 2014.

Craig, who is married with two adult children, came to Detroit after a nearly two-year stint as the police chief of the Cincinnati Police Department. He's also been the police chief in Portland, Maine, spent 28 years climbing the ranks of the Los Angeles Police Department and began his career as a Detroit police officer.

James Craig DPD bio

Detroit's image has been tarnished in recent decades, but it is still identified by Gov. Rick Snyder and others as a city key to the prosperity and success of Michigan. It has also become the example of what can happen when populations shift and governments are corrupted.

The city is enduring a monumental bankruptcy restructuring that is forcing leadership to take a new approach to management of a vast city using limited resources.

This is a task Craig has never shied from. Although he admits increased staffing and resources would be helpful, he's yet to complain and presents an optimistic outlook that with the proper use of resources and the proper leadership this department can effectively battle crime.

Nearly every major crime category, not including assaults, has decreased in 2014 compared to through the same date last year:

Crime 2014 2013

Homicide: 182 227

Sex assault: 539 556

Robbery: 2,537 3,527

Assault: 5,756 5,557



Burglary: 6,417 8,209

larceny: 8,964 11,888

Auto theft: 6,662 8,363

Although readers will have a firsthand opportunity to interact with the chief and ask questions, please feel free to share in advance what you'd like to know, how you feel he's handled the job and what concerns remain in the comment section below.

Check back with MLive.com on Thursday at this link to participate in the live chat.