William Bratton, who the New York Times says was heralded as a crime-fighter after taming New York City's rampant violence in the mid-1990s, has been summoned to London to help salvage a British police force that has been maligned after days of rioting, deaths and arson fires. Bratton said Prime Minister David Cameron called him to discuss working as a consult on a strategy to respond to violence that convulsed London and other cities.
A focus of Cameron's interest in him, Bratton said, is addressing how to take aim at the street gangs that law enforcement officials and others believe are playing a critical role in fomenting or engaging in the violence that began in north London a week ago and has led to hundreds of arrests and several deaths. “What they are looking for, from me, is the idea of, what has been the American experience in dealing with the gang problem and, what has worked for us and not worked for us and how that can be applied,” said Bratton, 63, chairman of Kroll, an international private security firm.