No, [Edward Flynn], 44, who on June 1 becomes the police chief of Chelsea -- regarded as among the toughest law enforcement jobs in Massachusetts -- represents a new breed of officer, who fights crime with modern strategy and embraces community policing.

Flynn arrives at the crumbling Chelsea station -- located on the first floors of a condemned courthouse building -- after a string of low-key interim chiefs brought in from the outside. Previously, chiefs routinely rose through the ranks of Chelsea's quagmire politics, which contributed, many said, to the problems the department now confronts.

Chelsea's state-appointed receiver, Lewis Harry Spence, said the city will immediately begin looking for new quarters for the department. In Braintree, Flynn established a reputation for high-quality equipment. He computerized the entire department, even placing terminals in patrol cars to allow direct hookups to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.