enlarge 2009 Press Herald file

James Craig will be sworn in as Portland’s new police chief at 9 a.m. today in the State of Maine Room at Portland City Hall.

PORTLAND — James Craig is scheduled to be sworn in this morning as the city's 18th police chief, taking over a department that faces several challenges but, he says, a force with a high degree of professionalism and accountability.

Craig will be sworn in at 9 a.m. in the State of Maine Room at City Hall and will be given command of the state's largest municipal police force, with 160 sworn officers and 53 civilian staff members.

Craig, who flew into Portland on Wednesday, says he is eager to start. He has been in contact with his command staff and has been receiving daily activity reports for the past three weeks.

"I'm so excited. There's so much I want to do," he said Wednesday. "I certainly want to start building those inroads with the community."

City Manager Joseph Gray's choice of Craig was unanimously endorsed by the City Council on March 2.

Craig, 52, spent the past 28 years with the Los Angeles Police Department after starting his career as a patrolman in his hometown of Detroit. He rose in the Los Angeles ranks to captain and was commanding officer for 390 police and civilian personnel in the gang-ridden Southwest Area of that city until shortly before his departure.

Craig plans to start working on some of his new department's issues immediately. He has asked his command staff to arrange a forum with Sudanese community leaders next week and expects the conversation will include concerns about the fatal police shooting of a Sudanese immigrant last weekend.

Officers shot David Okot, 26, on Saturday night. Police say Okot pulled a gun from his waistband just as they arrived.

Building ties with various segments of the community, as well as the clergy and other leaders, makes it easier for people to come forward, even if it's anonymously, to express concerns and keep police informed, Craig said.

After meeting with community groups, Craig said, he hopes to bring those groups together in a larger meeting to discuss shared issues.

Craig also will begin surveying his officers and staff on ways to work more efficiently to save money and explore reorganizing the department, which has vacancies for a deputy chief and an internal affairs lieutenant.

Gray is in negotiations with police unions, seeking a wage freeze as a way to avoid layoffs.

The municipal budget and its impact on the department will be one of the new chief's first challenges.

"We want our folks to get the salary they're entitled to, but we're in this (budget) situation. Mr. Gray has a difficult balancing act in trying to meet all the needs," Craig said, noting that in Los Angeles, officers are being asked to take a pay cut to avoid layoffs.

"I really want to look at how we're doing business because, frankly, we're in lean times," Craig said.

"The thing that will be in the forefront is cost," he said, but "the one thing I don't want is to make any sacrifices when it relates to service. That's too critical."

In reviewing the daily activity report, Craig said he saw a high number of calls for fights downtown that were related to drinking. He said he hopes to work with bar owners to explore ways of reducing alcohol-induced confrontations.

Throughout his career, Craig has emphasized the importance of community policing and of officers walking foot beats in the neighborhoods they cover. It's an emphasis he intends to bring with him.

"With foot beats, you get to know the community residents, business people, clergy," he said. "If you have a small area that needs close attention, you have to have high visibility and you have to have folks out of the cars, talking to folks," he said.

Craig said that he will draw on his experience in Los Angeles, but that Portland is a significantly different community that requires its own policing strategies.

"I don't want to give the impression in the community or with men and women who work in...