Ex-Top NYPD Cop Takes Job in UK
Bill Bratton will advise British government on curbing gang violence.
Aug. 12, 2011 — -- Bill Bratton, who headed police departments in Boston, New York and L.A., told ABC News he has accepted an offer to assist the government of British Prime Minister David Cameron in finding solutions to the problem of gang violence in the U.K.
"We will be working with the British government on the very specific issues of gangs and gang violence," said Bratton.
Bratton told ABC News he had received a call from Cameron Friday morning asking him to consider becoming a consultant to Scotland Yard. He said he thanked the prime minister for the offer and now he has come to a formal agreement.
Prime Minister had repeatedly signaled his intention to enlist the aid of Bratton, who as a police commissioner in three major U.S. cities developed a reputation for driving down crime rates and curbing gang activity.
On Thursday, when addressing Parliament about the rioting and looting that began in London over the weekend, he cited Bratton by name as the kind of outside expert that Britain needed.
"I believe we should be looking beyond our shores to learn the lesson from others who have faced similar problems," said Cameron. "That is why I will be discussing how we can go further in coming to grips with gangs with people like Bill Bratton."
Bratton said that he would be working with all aspects of the government, including Cameron's office, the Home Office -- which oversees the Metropolitan Police -- and very likely with British police officials as well.
Bratton, a Boston native, was commissioner in Boston from 1991 to 1994, where he implemented the Neighborhood Policing project to curb youth violence.
Under New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bratton launched a "zero tolerance" crackdown on crime widely credited with restoring quality of life to New York and beginning crime's downward reduction. There he took guns off the streets and cleared a backlog of felons who were hiding in plain sight despite arrest warrants.
In Los Angeles Bratton faced down tough gang problems in troubled ghetto areas. His innovative "compstat" management strategy forced complacent cop bosses to be accountable for crime in their districts. It has been widely copied across the United States.