USA/FILE: Former NYC police chief to help Britain control gang violence

Record ID: 590888

  • Title: USA/FILE: Former NYC police chief to help Britain control gang violence
  • Date: 13th August 2011
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (FILE) (REUTERS) FORMER NEW YORK CITY AND LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF WILLIAM BRATTON WALKING ON THE RED CARPET. BRATTON SPEAKING TO OTHER OFFICERS AND OFFICIALS
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2011 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Crime,People
  • Reuters ID: LVA7D9HLPQGOP4WGV81S38UQBHSO
  • Story Text: William Bratton, credited with curbing street crime as police chief in New York, Los Angeles, and Boston, agreed on Friday (August 12) to take a job helping British Prime Minister David Cameron quell the unrest in England.
    Bratton, chairman of the Manhattan-based, private security firm Kroll, said he accepted the offer to work as a consultant, advising Cameron on dealing with widespread rioting.
    "This morning I had a conversation with Prime Minister (David) Cameron in which he thanked me for agreeing to work with the British government as they deal with the issues of gang crime, gang violence and gang intervention and I am looking forward to the opportunity to work with them on those issues," he said.
    Bratton has teamed up with British police at other times over the past 20 years. In 2009, Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the honorary title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.
    A native of Boston, Bratton headed that city's police department in the early 1990s and initiated a neighborhood policing effort to reduce violence among young people.
    As New York police commissioner under former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Bratton implemented a "zero tolerance" crackdown on street crime that ushered in a period of record crime reduction.
    In Los Angeles, Bratton helped quell gang violence and improve strained relations with the community. Now, he is working out a formal agreement on assisting Britain at a time of deep unrest.
    Bratton said the post will be as a long-term consultant and will begin the job soon.
    Hundreds of people have been arrested in London and elsewhere amid rioting that began after a fatal police shooting.
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