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Attack on Sherlocks of the Met
Justin Davenport, Crime Correspondent28.10.08
UNITED States police chief Bill Bratton has criticised the "Sherlock Holmes-style policing" of Scotland Yard in tackling London's knife crime.
The Los Angeles police chief famous for his zero-tolerance methods said the force had been too focused on responding to crimes rather than intervening to prevent them in the first place.
He was also critical of the courts in Britain for allowing offenders to get away with cautions for possession of knives - a policy which, he said, sent a green light to teenage criminals.
Mr Bratton, 61, speaking in an interview on London Tonight, said intervention and early detection were the key to beating knife crime. He said: "If you fix the broken windows, you don't end up with entire streets full of fear."
The officer, who has halved the number of gang killings in Los Angeles, was recently tipped as a contender to become the next Commissioner of the Met. The idea has been ruled out by officials but he could be brought over to act as an adviser to Scotland Yard.
Mr Bratton, who also slashed crime as chief in New York, said police could not win the fight against knife crime if judges handed out soft sentences.
The answer to the problem, he said, is for the courts to get tough on offenders and if they failed to act, then the Government should force their hand.
He praised the original Robert Peel school of policing which had a bobby on every corner. In recent interviews he has said police in London should focus on the neighbourhood policing scheme which was introduced by the outgoing Met chief Sir Ian Blair.
The LA police chief has met Mayor Boris Johnson to give advice on what he believes should be done to combat youth and gang crime. In a recent interview he described the job of Commissioner of the Met as the most challenging police job in the world.
Recent figures show knife crime in London falling by 10 per cent after police mounted a massive stop and search campaign across the city.
Reader views (7)
"Boris Johnson would do well remember than Politicians should not be politically appointed."
???????????????? I think you meant Police Chiefs should not be politically appointed 
Otherwise, fully agree!
- David Smith, Wellingborough, England
Zero-tolerance isn't for 'kids and retards', a zero-tolerance of violence is exactly what we need - we must draw the line, the least serious violence must be regarded as absolutely taboo and with very serious consequences.
- S Denham, London, UK
"If you fix the broken windows, you don't end up with entire streets full of fear."
Well, if the windows are broken, we have already gone a step too far. If neighbourhoods are allowed to fall apart visibly (because they are poor anyway and what's the point in investing then, see Cross River Tram to connect South London to the North vs. Crossrail), they are only a step away from disintegrating. Maybe if Boris took his bike and rode along some of the poorest streets in Brixton and Camberwell he would understand what the problem really is. Let's start at the roots and maybe something fruitful will grow out of it!
- Carsten, London
I'm not sure whether introducing thousand year prison sentences such as they have in the US, will help us reduce knife crime. Let's face it: the US uses torture, thousand-year prison sentences and execution, and has a profound crime problem. "Zero tolerance" is for kids and retards, not for the English adult population.
- Neil, London UK
A man from another Country has the answer, yet the people who make the decisions here get it WRONG every time.
Why do you have to be an idiot walking round with your eyes wide shut to be in a position of power in the UK.
- Phil Taylor, Grimsby
'A green light to teenage criminals.' Bill Bratton for Commissioner.
- Peter Haldane, London
He's not attacking the Met at all. He is attacking judges that hand out soft sentences and he is particularly critical of the courts in Britain for allowing offenders to get away with cautions for possession of knives - "a policy which sent a green light to teenage criminals". The only people in the country who would disagree with this statement of the obvious are the criminals, their mums, and the judiciary who seem to live in a rarified world away from the trials and tribulations of us common folk. Send down hard sentences on knife possession and crimes involving weapons and incidences will drop. Doh.
- Squiz, Islington
