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William Bratton

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William J. Bratton
CBE
Bratton and wife Rikki Klieman at LA/Valley Pride
Other namesBill
Police career
DepartmentLos Angeles Police Department
Service yearsBoston PD: 1970–1983, 1992–1994
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority PD: 1983–1986
Boston Metropolitan District Commission PD: 1986–1990
NYC Transit PD: 1990–1992
NYPD: 1994–1996
LAPD: 2002–2009
RankChief of Police
AwardsCommander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire[1]
William Bratton
Chief of Police of the Los Angeles Police Department
In office
October 27, 2002 – October 31, 2009
MayorJames Hahn
Antonio Villaraigosa
Preceded byMartin Pomeroy (Acting)
Succeeded byMichael Downing (Acting)
Personal details
Born
William Joseph Bratton

(1947-10-06) October 6, 1947 (age 77)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseRikki Klieman
Alma materUniversity of Massachusetts, Boston

William Joseph "Bill" Bratton CBE (born October 6, 1947) is an American law enforcement officer who served as the chief of police of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), New York City Police Commissioner, and Boston Police Commissioner.

Bratton began his police career at Boston Police Department before becoming Police Commissioner in New York City, where his zero-tolerance policy has been credited with reducing petty and violent crime. He moved to Los Angeles Police Department in 2002 reforming the police after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and crime was reduced.[2]

Bratton's policing style is influenced by the broken windows theory that if minor, petty crime is not dealt with, crime will increase.[3] He advocates having an ethnically diverse police force representative of the population,[4] maintaining a strong relationship with the law-abiding population,[5] tackling police corruption,[3] being tough on gangs and having a strict no-tolerance of anti-social behavior.[6]

Bratton was approached by British Prime Minister David Cameron to become the new Metropolitan Police Commissioner in July 2011, but this was blocked by the Home Office on the grounds the Commissioner must be a British national with experience of English law.[7] Bratton instead was offered an advisor role to the British government which he accepted in August 2011.[8]

Police career

Boston

Bratton is native to the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Boston Technical High School, graduating in 1965. From there, he served in the Military Police Corps of the United States Army during the Vietnam War, returning to Boston in 1970 to start a police career in the Boston Police Department. He quickly rose to the rank of lieutenant, and in 1980, at the age of 32 and ten years after his appointment to the BPD, Bratton was named as the youngest-ever Executive Superintendent of the Boston Police, the department's second highest post. He was dismissed as executive superintendent after he told a journalist that his goal was to be the Police Commissioner. He was reassigned to the position of Inspector of Bureaus, a sinecure which was responsible for liaison with minority and LGBTQ communities. He was later brought back into police headquarters to handle labor relations and 9-1-1 related issues.

Between 1983 and 1986 Bratton was Chief of Police for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, following which he became Superintendent of Boston's Metropolitan District Commission Police. In 1990, he was appointed Chief of Police of the New York City Transit Police. Bratton was Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department from 1992 until 1993, then he became that city's 34th Police Commissioner. He holds the Department's highest award for valor.

New York City

Bratton became the chief of the New York City Transit Police Department in 1990. In 1991 the Transit Police gained national accreditation under the chief. The Department became one of only 175 law-enforcement agencies in the country and only the second in New York State to achieve that distinction. The following year it was also accredited by the State of New York, and by 1994, there were almost 4,500 uniformed and civilian members of the Department, making it the sixth largest police force in the United States. Bratton had left the NYC Transit Police returning to Boston in 1992 to head the Boston Police Department, a long-time ambition of his.

In 1994, William Bratton was appointed the 38th Commissioner of the NYPD by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. He cooperated with Giuliani in putting the broken windows theory into practice. He had success in this position, and introduced the CompStat system of tracking crimes, which proved successful in reducing crime in New York City and is still used to this day. A new tax surcharge enabled the training and deployment of around 5,000 new better-educated police officers, police decision-making was devolved to precinct level, and a backlog of 50,000 unserved warrants was cleared. The CompStat real-time police intelligence computer system was effectively introduced and integrated. Police numbers were further boosted in 1995 when New York's housing and transit police were merged into the New York Police Department. He also was instrumental in the change that same year of the standard NYPD uniform shirt from light blue to dark blue similar to the LAPD style.[9]

Bratton resigned in 1996, while under investigation by the Corporation Counsel for the propriety of a book deal that he signed while in office as well as accepting multiple unauthorized trips from corporations and individuals. These were offenses considered minor by many[who?] (Giuliani later allowed subsequent Commissioner Bernard Kerik to be let off with a slap on the wrist after nearly identical offenses). Front and center however, were alleged personal conflicts with Giuliani, partly due to Giuliani's opposition to some of Bratton's reforms and partly due to Giuliani's belief that Bratton was getting more credit for the reduction in crime than Giuliani was.[10]

The experiences of Bratton and New York Deputy Police Commissioner Jack Maple were used as the inspiration of the television series The District.

Los Angeles

Bratton worked as a private consultant with Kroll Associates, also known as LAPD's Independent Monitor,[11] until his appointment by Mayor of Los Angeles James Hahn as the LAPD's 54th Chief of Police in October 2002. Bratton was one of three candidates recommended to Hahn by the Los Angeles Police Commission under Commission President Rick J. Caruso.[12] Under Bratton's tenure, crime within the city dropped for six consecutive years.[13] On June 19, 2007, the LA Police Commission reappointed William Bratton to a second five-year term, the first reappointment of an LAPD chief in almost twenty years. Bratton has been criticized for his extensive travel; in 2005, he was out of town for a full third of the year on both official and personal business.[14]

In March 2009, Councilman Herb Wesson proposed an amendment[15] to the City Charter, allowing Bratton to serve a third consecutive term as Police Chief.

United Kingdom

On September 11, 2009, he was awarded with the honorary title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II "in recognition of his work to promote cooperation between US and UK police throughout his distinguished career."[16] On 12 August 2011, Bratton said he was in talks with the British Government to become an advisor on controlling the violence that had affected London the prior week. He said he received a phone call from U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, and that he will continue speaking with British officials to formalize an agreement.[17] Prime Minister Cameron initially wanted to appoint Bratton Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis of London, but was overruled by Home Secretary Theresa May, who insisted that only a British citizen should be able to run the Service.[18][19]

Oakland

On December 27, 2012, he was hired as a consultant for the city of Oakland, California.[20] On January 13, 2013, The Oakland City Council approved the hiring of William Bratton with a vote of 7-1. [21]

Business

Altegrity

On August 5, 2009, Bratton announced that after nearly seven years he would be stepping down as chief of police for the City of Los Angeles, and he continued to serve as chief until October 31, 2009.[22] Bratton moved back to New York City to take a position with private international security firm Altegrity Risk International, serving as a Chairman of a new division where he would consult on security for police departments worldwide.[23]

Kroll

Bratton became the Chairman of Kroll, a corporate investigations and risk consulting firm based in New York on September 16, 2010. As of November 9 2012, Bratton has stepped down as Chairman and retained by Kroll as a Senior Advisor. Bratton will continue to work with public entities and private organizations facing complex security or investigatory challenges. In addition to liaising with clients on behalf of Kroll, Bratton intends to pursue a wider range of interests in the field of public safety and organizational security. Kroll is one of Altegrity, Inc.’s three core businesses.[24]

Crest Advisory

Bratton joined Crest Advisory on 5th November 2012.[25]

Crest Advisory [26] provides expert advice to prospective police and crime commissioners (PCCs), criminal justice agencies and the security sector. Crest’s team offer a powerful fusion of policy expertise, political insight, delivery experience and communications support to help communities prevent crime, fear and disorder.

Policing style

In New York, Bratton adopted a zero tolerance policing policy from 1990. This manner of policing has won plaudits and criticism,[27] but the implementation of zero tolerance policy coincided with a reduction of petty and serious crime in New York by 2001.

Bratton has stated that racial tensions and distrust of the police are hindrances to reducing crime. Bratton's solution in New York and Los Angeles was to make police forces more ethnically diverse and "reflect[ive of] the ethnic make-up of the cities."[4]

Comments on Brazilian police forces

Bratton expressed a critical view of Brazilian police promotion policy to a local magazine in 2009.[28] Junior police officers without a law degree can’t reach top positions, undermining motivation, according to Bratton.

Personal life

Bratton holds a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement from the University of Massachusetts Boston and was a research fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.

Bratton has been married four times. He is married to attorney and TruTV analyst Rikki Klieman, and has one son, David, from a prior marriage. Bratton was previously married to attorney and newscaster Cheryl Fiandaca.

In 1998, Random House published his memoir Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic, written with co-author Peter Knobler. It was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year.

Bratton addressed the Roger Williams University graduating class at the May 22, 2010 commencement ceremony and also received an honorary degree during the ceremony.[29]

Bibliography

  • Bratton, William (1998). Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic. New York: Random House. ISBN 9780679452515. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

References

  1. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  2. ^ Carlos Granda (12 August 2011). "LAPD reforms provide example for other cities". abclocal.go.com.
  3. ^ a b Bratton, Bill (14 August 2011). "American 'super cop' called in by Cameron reveals how to halt the hoodlums: 'I don't do it… but I can tell you how to hit gangs'". Daily Mail. London.
  4. ^ a b Batty, David (13 August 2011). "UK riots: police should tackle racial tension, says 'supercop' Bill Bratton". The Guardian. London.
  5. ^ "'Supercop' advises PM over riots". The Sun. London. 13 August 2011. Reacting to the riots, Mr Bratton said British police needed to focus on calming racial tensions by working more with community leaders and civil rights groups.
  6. ^ Swaine, Jon (13 August 2011). "UK riots: supercop's battle order for tackling Britain's street gangs". Daily Telegraph. London. But in keeping with his desire to nip problems in the bud, he is clear that the repercussions for those who step out of line must be severe, especially among younger offenders. "Very early on in people's lives you have to have them understand that abhorrent behaviour, anti-social behaviour, will not be tolerated," he said.
  7. ^ Whitehead, Tom (5 August 2011). "David Cameron's US 'supercop' blocked by Theresa May". Daily Telegraph. London.
  8. ^ "US 'supercop' Bill Bratton says riot arrests not only answer". BBC. 13 August 2011.
  9. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/07/nyregion/well-dressed-officer-navy-not-powder-blue.html
  10. ^ 'The Bratton Resignation' — New York Times
  11. ^ Kroll Associates' LAPD page
  12. ^ "Police Commission Letter to Mayor Hahn Recommending Three Finalists: William Bratton, Art Lopez, John Timoney". Los Angeles Community Policing. September 19, 2002. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  13. ^ Rubin, Joel; Winton, Richard (1 January 2009). "Crime continues to fall in Los Angeles despite bad economy". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "Bratton Out of Town for a Third of '05" — Los Angeles Times 11 March 2006
  15. ^ 'Third term for LAPD chief? Councilman seeks hearings' — LA Times
  16. ^ "LAPD Chief Bratton Honored by Queen Elizabeth II". LAPD Blog. September 11, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  17. ^ Lawless, Jill (12 August 2011). "Thousands of police patrol Britain's streets, nearly 600 charged in riots". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  18. ^ Swaine, Jon (12 August 2011). "UK riots: young thugs 'should fear the police', says David Cameron's new crime adviser". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  19. ^ Swaine, Jon (12 Aug 2011). "UK riots: supercop's battle order for tackling Britain's street gangs". Telegraph. London.
  20. ^ http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/east_bay&id=8933765
  21. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-hires-police-consultant-Bratton-4215491.php
  22. ^ 'Chief William Bratton To Step Down From LAPD' CBS 2/KCAL 9 Los Angeles
  23. ^ 'LAPD Chief William Bratton to Resign' KTLA 5 Los Angeles
  24. ^ [2] Altegrity press release
  25. ^ [3]
  26. ^ [4]
  27. ^ "'Zero tolerance' advice to PM". Sydney Morning Herald. 14 August 2011.
  28. ^ "O Steve Jobs Da Policia". Revista Veja. December 2, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
  29. ^ "Roger Williams University to Confer more than 1000 Degrees in 2010 Commencement". Roger Williams University. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
Police appointments
Preceded by
Joseph Saia
 Superintendent in Chief of the Boston Police Department
1992–1993 		Succeeded by
Paul Evans
Preceded by Commissioner of the Boston Police Department
1993–1994
Preceded by Police Commissioner of New York City
1994–1996 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief of Police of the Los Angeles Police Department
2002–2009 		Succeeded by

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