James E. Craig (born 1956) is an American law enforcement official who served as the chief of the
Detroit Police Department
The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan.
Histo ...
. He served in this capacity from 2013 to 2021, after previously serving as chief of the
Cincinnati Police Department
The Cincinnati Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Cincinnati, Ohio. The department has 1,057 sworn officers and 281 non-sworn employees.
History
When Cincinnati incorporated, as a village, in 1802, a ‘night watch� ...
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...
.
Early life
Craig was born and raised in
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...
. His father was a veteran of the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
and served as a reserve police officer at the time of the
1967 Detroit riot
The 1967 Detroit Riot, also known as the 12th Street Riot or Detroit Rebellion, was the bloodiest of the urban riots in the United States during the "Long, hot summer of 1967". Composed mainly of confrontations between Black residents and the De ...
, when James Craig was in fifth grade. He graduated from
Cass Technical High School
Cass Technical High School (simply referred to as Cass Tech) is a public high school in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, United States.
and joined the
Detroit Police Department
The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan.
Histo ...
in 1977.
Policing career
Craig first worked at the
Detroit Police Department
The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan.
Histo ...
from 1977 until he was laid off in 1981. He went to
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
to work for the LAPD for nearly three decades. From 2009 to 2011, he was police chief for the Portland Police Department in
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...
. From 2011 to 2013, he was chief of police for the
Cincinnati Police Department
The Cincinnati Police Department is the primary law enforcement agency of Cincinnati, Ohio. The department has 1,057 sworn officers and 281 non-sworn employees.
History
When Cincinnati incorporated, as a village, in 1802, a ‘night watch� ...
in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
. During his tenure with the Cincinnati police, the crime rate was its lowest since 2000, though it was part of an overall trend of decreasing crime.
Chief of the Detroit Police Department
After he had initially worked with the
Detroit Police Department
The Detroit Police Department (DPD) is a municipal police force based in and responsible for the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. Founded in 1865, it has nearly 2,500 officers, making it the largest law enforcement organization in Michigan.
Histo ...
earlier in his career, Craig had said he wouldn't go back to work for them unless he was offered the role of police chief. He was originally appointed police chief by Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr. He replaced Chester Logan, who had held the position on an interim basis since the previous October when his predecessor, Ralph Godbee, was fired for having sexual relations with a subordinate. Craig officially took office on July 1, 2013.
In his first year as chief, homicide cases made a modest drop from 332 to 300 between the years 2013 and 2014. In early 2014, Craig made national headlines for saying more armed citizens would decrease the crime rate. Craig claimed in 2017 that crime was steadily decreasing since his taking office in 2013, with data from a new software system employed by Detroit showing a 5 percent decrease in violent crime in 2016. The
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
disputed his claim, and suggested violent crime had actually increased 15.7 percent between 2015 and 2016. Craig rejected their assessment. Detroit reported a 19 percent increase in homicide cases in 2020, with non-deadly shootings up 53 percent, though this was part of a trend of increasing crime nationwide, with homicide cases also rising above 50 percent in cities such as
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
for the uptick in crime.
In 2020, Craig criticized the
Kym Worthy
Kym Loren Worthy (born December 5, 1956) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the prosecutor of Wayne County, Michigan since 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she is the first African-American woman to serve as a county prosec ...
responded by suggesting that the police department's investigations were often inadequate, and upon Craig's departure as chief suggested that Craig was a "glory seeker."
At times, Craig made headlines by describing people involved in
mass shootings
There is a lack of consensus on how to define a mass shooting. Most terms define a minimum of three or four victims of gun violence (not including the shooter or in an inner city) in a short period of time, although an Australian study from 20 ...
in the city as "urban terrorists". In December 2015, Craig said that terrorists are unlikely to attack Detroit because so many residents have
concealed carry
Concealed carry, or carrying a concealed weapon (CCW), is the practice of carrying a weapon (usually a sidearm such as a handgun), either in proximity to or on one's person or in public places in a manner that hides or conceals the weapon's pr ...
permits.
In January 2016, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan designated Craig as the city's deputy mayor. In 2022, Duggan criticized Craig's record as police chief, noting that violent crime in Detroit did not decline until after the appointment, in June 2021, of James White as Craig's successor.
As police chief, Craig initiated Project Green Light to provide police
live stream
Livestreaming is streaming media simultaneously recorded and broadcast in real-time over the internet. It is often referred to simply as streaming. Non-live media such as video-on-demand, vlogs, and YouTube videos are technically streamed, but n ...
of videos to businesses to better respond to crimes there. He has also initiated programs to cut gang membership and large scale sweeps aimed at finding people with outstanding warrants. In August 2019, Craig defended the police use of
facial recognition software
A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and wo ...
after the use of the technology was criticized by Congresswoman
Rashida Tlaib
Rashida Harbi Tlaib (, ; born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the ...
. The Detroit Board of Police Commissioners ruled for the facial recognition policies to be limited to still images of suspects in criminal investigations, which Craig welcomed and heralded.
2022 Michigan gubernatorial election
In May 2021, it was reported Craig would be announcing his retirement from the Detroit police. He had previously met with
Arizona Governor
The governor of Arizona is the head of government of the U.S. state of Arizona. As the top elected official, the governor is the head of the executive branch of the Arizona state government and is charged with faithfully executing state laws. The ...
Doug Ducey
Douglas Anthony Ducey (, né Roscoe Jr.; born April 9, 1964) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 23rd governor of Arizona since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Ducey was previously the CEO of Cold Stone Creamery, a c ...
, chair of the
Republican Governors Association
The Republican Governors Association (RGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1961, consisting of U.S. state and territorial Republican governors. The Republican Governors Association is dedicated to one primary objective: e ...
, and other
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
Gretchen Whitmer
Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 ...
. On June 1, 2021, Craig retired after 44 years of service in law enforcement. He announced his campaign on a July 2021 appearance on ''
Tucker Carlson Tonight
''Tucker Carlson Tonight'' is an American talk show and current affairs program hosted by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson on the television network Fox News. The show premiered in November 2016 and includes political commentary, monolog ...
''.
On September 14, 2021, Craig attempted to announce his bid for Governor on Belle Isle, but was unable to be heard due to the presence of protestors who surrounded him on the podium, chanting "No justice, no peace, James Craig is still police." He later made his official announcement atop a former General Motors building in Detroit. During his gubernatorial campaign, Craig sought the endorsement of Donald Trump, and refused to express any view on Trump's claim that the 2020 presidential election was "stolen" from him.
In October 2021, Craig faced criticism after reporting revealed that he was never certified as a police officer in Michigan while serving as Detroit Police Chief. Craig had promised to complete the certification process when he took the position in 2013 but never did so during his eight years as chief.
John Yob, Craig’s chief advisor and strategist, announced that he was leaving Craig’s campaign in November 2021, commenting that he did not agree with the direction Craig wanted to go. Yob, who heads the political consulting firm Strategic National, is a longtime Michigan political operative who previously served as a top strategist for successful GOP gubernatorial candidate Rick Snyder. Yob later began working for rival GOP gubernatorial candidate Perry Johnson in 2022.
In May 2022, amid questions over the legitimacy of some signatures on his nominating petitions, Craig acknowledged possible fraud by signature gatherers. State election officials ruled that Craig, alongside four other Republican primary candidates, had failed to submit enough valid signatures to appear on the ballot, thus rendering him ineligible to compete for the party nomination. Craig filed a lawsuit in a bid to get on the primary ballot, but the suit was rejected by the Michigan Court of Claims.Arpan Lobo & Clara Hendrickson James Craig loses bid to appear on primary ballot after Michigan court denies appeal ''Detroit Free Press'' (June 2, 2022).Ed White Ex-Detroit top cop loses bid to get on ballot for governor Associated Press (June 2, 2022). Craig then launched a
write-in campaign
A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...
Craig has one son and daughter and has been married 4 times to 3 different women. His son, OVO James Craig is a hip-hop artist and he is only close with his daughter. According to court records, while a ranking officer in Los Angeles, Craig has filed twice for personal bankruptcy.
In March 2020, Craig tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...