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The Practice and Technology of Policing Today and Into the Future: Not Just Part of an Exit Strategy Anymore

William J. Bratton, Former Police Chief of Los Angeles/New York City/Boston and Chairman, Altegrity Risk International

As our world shifts, so do the security needs of our country and those we are committed to assist. The early, active involvement of law enforcement professionals and application of police technology, IT systems, and expertise cannot be relegated to the position of just an “exit strategy.” The former leader of the nation’s largest police forces discusses how and why policing and rule of law fundamentals must be a central core element of any realistic plan to assist troubled nations and emerging democracies.

William J. Bratton

William J. Bratton is Chief Executive Officer of Altegrity Risk International (ARI), one of Altegrity’s four core businesses. Mr. Bratton joined Altegrity after serving as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) since October 2002. During his law enforcement career that spanned two decades, Mr. Bratton became known as America’s premier police chief. He changed once accepted policing and law enforcement processes and operations, leading to crime reductions in the United States. His leadership in police reform and community policing best practices have significantly improved police relations with minority communities and reduced instances of police corruption and abuse. In the international law enforcement and crime busting arena, Mr. Bratton established a reputation for re-engineering police departments and fighting crime that dates back to the early 1990s. While serving as New York City Police Commissioner from 1994 to 1996, Mr. Bratton vigorously advanced the idea that police departments could have a far greater impact on crime than was generally believed, and then he proved it by cutting crime dramatically in the nation’s largest city.

A U.S. Army veteran who saw service in Vietnam, Mr. Bratton began his police career in 1970 as an officer with the Boston Police Department, rising to Superintendent of Police, the department’s highest sworn rank, in just ten years. In the 1980s, he headed two other police agencies, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Police and the Massachusetts Metropolitan District Commission Police. From 1996 to 2002, between his time as New York City Police Commissioner and his service as Los Angeles Police Chief, Mr. Bratton worked as private sector consultant on safety and security engagements throughout the United States and on four continents, including extensive consulting in South America.

As Chief of the New York City Transit Police, Boston Police Commissioner, and then New York City Police Commissioner, Mr. Bratton revitalized police morale and cut crime, achieving the largest crime declines in New York City’s history. He led the development and implementation of CompStat, the internationally acclaimed command accountability system now in use by police departments nationwide. With the CompStat system still in place, New York City has just completed its 19^th consecutive year of continuous crime declines.

During the past decade, Mr. Bratton served for seven years as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In a city known for its entrenched gang culture and youth violence, he brought crime to historically low levels, with serious crimes down 38 percent and homicides down 54 percent. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9-11, Mr. Bratton built the LAPD’s now state-of-the-art counter-terrorism capabilities, including its regional “fusion” operations center, which has been a national model, and its real-time crime center, which takes full advantage of the latest crime analysis and information sharing and intelligence technologies.

Mr. Bratton holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Law Enforcement from Boston State College (University of Massachusetts Boston). He is a graduate of the FBI National Executive Institute and was a Senior Executive Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. A frequent lecturer, writer, and commentator in the fields of law enforcement and rule of law justice systems, Mr. Bratton is the author of the critically acclaimed autobiography, Turnaround, published by Random House in 1998.