William J. Bratton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (June 2007) |
| William J. Bratton | |
 Chief Bratton's Official LAPD Photo
|
|
| Born | William Joseph Bratton October 6, 1947 Boston, Massachusetts |
|---|---|
| Residence | Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California |
| Occupation | Police Chief |
| Employers | City of Los Angeles |
| Title | Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department |
| Salary | $300,442 per year |
| Term | 2002-present |
| Predecessor | Martin H. Pomeroy |
| Religious beliefs | Roman Catholic |
| Spouse | Rikki Klieman his fourth wife |
| Children | David Bratton |
William Joseph 'Bill' Bratton is currently the 54th Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), and was formerly the Police Commissioner of New York City and Boston.
Contents |
[edit] Boston
Born on October 6, 1947, Bratton is a native 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 911 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 1991 until 1993, when he became that city's 34th Police Commissioner. He holds the Department's highest award for valor.
[edit] New York City
In 1994, William Bratton was appointed the 38th Commissioner of the NYPD by Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani. 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. Bratton left the job in 1996 after alleged personal conflicts with Giuliani.
In 1996, Bratton was featured in a business case prepared by James L. Heskett and published by Harvard Business School (Ref 9-396-293). Bratton's efforts to effectively turn around the New York City Police Department is used by many business schools as a tool for teaching organizational design and change.[citation needed]
[edit] Los Angeles
Bratton worked as a private consultant with Kroll Associates, also known as LAPD's Independent Monitor, until his appointment by Mayor of Los Angeles James Hahn as the LAPD's 54th Chief of Police in October 2002. 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.
[edit] Personal life
He holds a Bachelor of Science in Law Enforcement from the University of Massachusetts and was a research fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
Bratton is married to attorney and Court TV analyst Rikki Klieman, and has one son, David, from a prior marriage. Bratton was also formerly married to attorney and newscaster Cheryl Fiandaca. Bratton is Roman Catholic.
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.
[edit] References
William Bratton & Peter Knobler. Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic. Random House, 1998.
[edit] External links
- On the Front Line in the War on Terrorism, City Journal, Summer 2007
- LAPD: William J. Bratton Biography
- William Bratton speaks out against concealed carry
- "Ask the Chief" - Southern California NPR (KPCC) Interview May 16, 2007 focusing on the MacArthur Park Demonstrations and Bratton's reappointment as LAPD's Chief (Real Audio)
| Police appointments | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by N/A |
Executive Superintendent of the Boston Police Department 1980-1982 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Chief of Police - Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Police Department 1983-1986 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Superintendent of the Boston Metropolitan District Commission Police 1986-1990 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Chief of Police/Senior Vice President for the New York City Transit Authority Police Department 1990-1991 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by N/A |
Superintendent in Chief of Boston Police Department 1991-1993 |
Succeeded by N/A |
| Preceded by Francis M. "Mickey" Roach |
Commissioner of the Boston Police Department 1993-1994 |
Succeeded by Paul F. Evans |
| Preceded by Raymond W. Kelly |
NYPD Commissioner 1994-1996 |
Succeeded by Howard Safir |
| Preceded by Martin H. Pomeroy |
Chief of Los Angeles Police Department 2002–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
|
|||||||||||||||||
