 |
 |
|
|
|
| |
Captain James E. Craig is a 27-year veteran of the Los Angeles Police Department and currently assigned as the Commanding Officer, Southwest Area. He was born in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended the prestigious Cass Technical High School and later began his undergraduate studies at the University of Detroit-Mercy (formally Mercy College). It was in Detroit where he started his 31-year law enforcement career joining the Detroit Police Department in June 1977. During his four years of serving the Detroit community, he developed a genuine passion for community policing.
In January 1981, Captain Craig joined the Los Angeles Police Department and completed patrol assignments in Pacific, 77th Street, and Wilshire Areas. In addition, Captain Craig completed successful assignments in Operations-South Bureau CRASH and Southeast as a vice investigator and a Senior Lead Officer (SLO). It was during his assignment as a SLO that he implemented a community policing effort aimed at eradicating the blatant sale of rock cocaine referred to as “STRAP” (Stop the Rock Assist Police). While short lived, this program received national attention and was a great example of a collaborative effort among community residents, clergy, local businesses and the police.
After promoting to Sergeant in 1987, Captain Craig was assigned to Pacific and Newton Areas. While assigned to Pacific, he was assigned as the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of Community Relations Office where he had an opportunity to not only build police-community relations, but also started the first Police Athletic League in the Oakwood Community. In addition, he worked staff and investigative assignments in the Office of Chief of Police, Employee Relations Section, Office of Operations, and Internal Affairs Division. In 1996, he promoted to the rank of lieutenant where he started as a watch commander at 77th Street Area. He also held assignments as the OIC of the Officer Representation Section and the Recruit Training Section of Training Division. Finally, he was assigned as the Adjutant to the former Chief of Police, Bernard C. Parks.
In January 2002, he was promoted to Captain and was assigned as the patrol commanding officer in Wilshire, Southwest and Southeast Areas. In April 2005, he was upgraded to Captain II and assigned to Juvenile Division where he exercised line command over investigations of Child Abuse, Sexually Exploited Children and oversight of the Department’s youth programs. In June 2005, he was upgraded to Captain III and returned to Southwest as the Area Commanding Officer. In his current assignment for the past three years, Captain Craig has command over 370 sworn and civilian personnel in an area of 185,000 diverse community residents. Captain Craig is most proud of the men and women who work Southwest who along with our community partners have contributed greatly to the sustained crime reduction efforts over the past three years and the building of positive police-community relations. He is equally proud of the success of the Area’s youth-based initiatives, particularly the Audubon Middle School Boot Camp a collaborative effort with our community partners.
Captain Craig was awarded the first Police Presidential Scholarship where he attended West Coast University, completing a Bachelors of Science in Business Management in 1995. In 1998, he completed the 193rd Session of the FBI National Academy and was also selected to attend a ten-week workshop on diversity conducted by Loyola Marymount University. He is a member of and past president of the Oscar Joel Bryant Foundation, an African-American Los Angeles police officers association. He is also a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Association of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Los Angeles Women Police Officers Association, and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
inside the lapd 
