Superintendent Nora Baston is the Chief of the newly formed Bureau of Community Engagement, which is tasked with implementing the Commissioner’s vision of community policing throughout the city and the Department.

Superintendent Baston has been a member of the Command staff for 11 years, and is a 22-year veteran of the Boston Police Department. Previous to this promotion, as Deputy Superintendent she was the Commander of the Community Support Division, and has also served as Zone Commander of Area E, as the Homeless Liaison, and as Coordinator of the Safe Street Teams Initiative. Prior to her appointment as Deputy, Nora was a Sergeant in District C11 (Dorchester) and District B2 (Roxbury); and a police officer in District B3 (Mattapan) and District E13 (Jamaica Plain).

She completed both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Criminal Justice at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Superintendent Baston is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police, and the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government’s Driving Government Performance program.

She is the Co-Founder of Women in Blue – an association of female BPD officers working to engage and empower young women. She is also a Board Member of the Children’s Trust Foundation, which is dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect. Superintendent Baston has received numerous community policing and leadership awards over the course of her career. A lifelong Boston resident and graduate of Boston Latin School, Superintendent Baston is committed to providing mentoring and support to inner city youth.