Bill Bratton, co-author of COLLABORATE OR PERISH

Bill Bratton CBE(Commander of the Order of the British Empire) (born October 6, 1947) 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 2001 reforming the police after the 1992 Los Angeles Riots and crime was reduced.

Bratton’s policing style is influenced by the broken windows theory that if minor, petty crime is not dealt with, crime will increase.

He advocates having an ethnically diverse police force representative of the population, maintaining a strong relationship with the law-abiding population, tackling police corruption, being tough on gangs and a strict no-tolerance of anti-social behaviour.

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. Bratton instead was offered an advisor role to the British government that he accepted in August 2011.

He 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.

Bratton is married to attorney and TruTV analyst Rikki Klieman, and has one son, David, from a prior marriage. Bratton was also formerly 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.