By Bill Forry
Managing Editor

The Boston Police Department has installed a new captain at the Area B-3 stationhouse on Blue Hill Avenue as part of a dramatic re-assignment of district commanders that police brass say is aimed at grooming new leaders. But at district 3, the heavyset man with the twin bars on his shoulder is hardly a newbie. Captain James Claiborne is, in fact, a veteran, decorated cop who was once a deputy superintendent, one of the department's highest-ranking commanders, considered a top-tier prospect for the commissioner's job. That was before he became the only BPD official to be demoted in the aftermath of the death of Boston University student Victoria Snelgrove during the infamous disturbances around Fenway Park in October 2004.

Busted down to captain, Claiborne was put in charge of District E-13 in Jamaica Plain, where his brand of community policing- the very asset that brought him near the top of his profession in the first place- commands respect from peers and community leaders. City Councillor John Tobin is one of his admirers.

"I'm jealous of you in Dorchester and Mattapan," Tobin said this week. "Captain Claiborne was always accessible to us. He was very progressive and was right on the verge of seeing through some really good initiatives for the community in Jamaica Plain."

Tobin, who met with Claiborne just two days before the transfer was announced, was surprised and disappointed with the news. He wasn't the only one.

Claiborne was only stationed at E-13 for about one year before his transfer last week.

On Tuesday, at a ceremony marking the promotion of dozens of Boston Police officers to higher ranks, Claiborne told the Reporter that the fact that he lives in Mattapan- in the district that he will now command- will make little difference in how he will do his job.

"I've been here for 27 years. My name and number's been in the phone book that whole time," he said.

Claiborne is still getting his bearings at B-3, but says that his general assessment is that the district has "done well with (combating) crime, but not as good in constituent services."

"My sense is that a lot of calls that should be handled at the district level are going instead to the mayor's office right now," Claiborne said. "Those quality of life sorts of issues should be handled at the station. That says to me that something's wrong there."

Claiborne said that he would assign his deputies- including patrol supervisors and beat officers- to attend community meetings in an effort to better respond to local concerns and to augment the work of the district's community service office, a strategy that Tobin says worked well in Jamaica Plain.

At B-3, Claiborne inherits a district that traditionally posted some of the city's highest crime figures. However, those numbers generally improved under the leadership of Capt. Timothy Murray, a sometimes swashbuckling, intense Dorchester native who was a respected leader of the drug squad and cold case homicide unit before his elevation to district commander four years ago. Murray's high-energy- and even higher profile- command style marked a departure for B-3, which was widely regarded as a unpopular destination for officers. Assigned to B-3 by former Commissioner Kathleen O'Toole in early 2004, Murray was given his pick of newly minted sergeants and lieutenants as subordinates. Murray himself quickly became a fixture on the crime watch circuit, giving elaborate slide show demonstrations that helped define where crime was - and wasn't - happening on the Dorchester-Mattapan district.

In a controversial move, Murray relocated the monthly B-3 community meeting from the stationhouse to the newly opened Mildred Avenue Community Center and, as attendance rose, the monthly meeting became the largest civic gathering of its kind in that part of Boston.

Murray managed to make headlines in other ways too: In March 2005, he was nearly killed when a fugitive gunman ambushed him in the basement of a Franklin Field apartment building. Murray returned fire, striking the fugitive, who survived and was captured in the incident. A year later, Murray was honored with the Hannah award for valor- and one of his B-3 initiatives, Operation Cloak and Dagger, garnered the department an international award earlier this year.

However, Murray's shoot-from-the-hip style did not endear him to command staff at Schroeder Plaza. Murray infuriated his superiors in 2004 by publicly lamenting the conditions at the Blue Hill Ave. stationhouse, blaming the station's poor layout and equipment, in part, for the district's poor rate of case closures on violent crimes. And, his frequent appearances in the press led to a crackdown from the Commissioner's office: Murray, and other district commanders, were put on orders to stop talking to reporters without express permission from headquarters. Murray, who once used local media regularly to get information out about police achievements in the district, went silent for the second half of his command at B-3 and was rarely allowed to speak publicly outside of his monthly community meeting at Mildred Ave. This week, Murray continued to refer requests for comment to headquarters.

Murray's transfer last week out of district three and into a still ambiguous posting at the BPD's Academy in Hyde Park is widely seen inside the department as a strong rebuke, despite his performance on the job.

According to one fellow officer, who spoke to the Reporter on the condition of anonymity, Murray has been assigned to "a closet" at the academy, with strict orders to not teach cadets.

"It's a shame," said the veteran officer. "He's one of the brightest guys in the department. But, he went off the reservation, like Claiborne, and this is his payback. Claiborne will do great at district three. But, why aren't these guys at the table? You should be able to politely disagree with the brass. Right now, everyone's got their head down."

Claiborne, like Murray, is hardly a darling of city hall or Schroeder Plaza. He's spoken out publicly about his anger about being demoted for alleged negligence in commanding the BPD's response to the Red Sox-Yankees game seven playoff incidents.

And like Murray, Claiborne's philosophy leans more towards a powerful and accountable district command, which could put him at odds with Schroeder Plaza superiors.

"I believe in keeping things decentralized," Claiborne says.