biographies

Bill Bratton had an agenda, from the time he was a teenager. His mission was to be a great policeman. His autobiography candidly portrays his path to leadership of the NYC Police Department and his triumph and discoveries along the way.

This book is not only a primer for criminal justice transformation, but also a guidebook to developing leadership skills and mastering the political process while achieving political goals.

Anybody who has been to New York City in the past several years has seen the fruits of Bill Bratton's efforts. His book gives witness to the journey he and his team took to renew the world's greatest city. A great opportunity for readers to go along for the ride. <B>

If you're interested in the topic of police management, and effective police work in the community, this is a terrific book. Bratton is a very straightforward type, which makes him a terrific police administrator, and (with the help of an excellent co-author) not bad at explaining situations. Especially the complicated and tense problems of politics at high levels where a bad quote or misplaced humor can end one's career. Most fascinating to me were the chapters on how he turned around crime in the New York Subways when he was head of their special police force. Paying attention to small crimes, like fare evasion, made a huge difference. He also figured out how to back his men and help them work effectively. His accomplishment in reducing crime in New York City, helping police be effective and more honest, is extremely important. We hope to publish a Polish translation next year.

I decided to read this book when Bill Bratton
was hired as Chief of Police in Los Angeles.

This book reads like an autobiography, from Bratton's
childhood in Boston, until after his falling out with
Guiliani. Through his experiences, I learned a lot
about police work.

Critics say that Bratton's success in New York was
concurrent with a nationwide drop in crime (presumably
due to a strong economy) and thus isn't such a big deal.
Cheap shot. This book explains how a well managed

police effort absolutely has an effect on crime.

Bratton has a strong track record of accomplishment,
turning around the MBTA Police (Massachusetts Bay Transit
Authority), the Metropolitan Police (now part of the
Massachusetts State Police), the New York Transit
Police, Boston Police, and NYPD.

Bratton believes in the Broken Windows theory, i.e.
that acceptance of petty crime creates an environment
that breeds more serious crime. (The slippery slope
argument.) He also believes in analysis of crime
statistics, by location/time/etc. to determine how
to deploy police resources: originally pins on
a map, eventually growing in to the famous CompStat.

Having lived in the Boston area for many years, the
references to different parts of the city where he
worked, and to various people (Mayors, police officials,
etc.) made the book all the more interesting for me.
Also, Bratton talks about a book called Your Police
which he checked out of the library as a boy; I remember
checking that same book out of the library when I was
around 8-years old. (Although I've always had a strong
interest in it, I didn't pursue a career in law enforcement.).

Bratton certainly has his work cut out for
him in Los Angeles. The LAPD has been plagued by
scandal, inept leadership, and (not surprisingly)
low morale and high employee turnover. And crime
is pervasive -- from reckless driving, littering
and graffiti, to gang drive-by shootings.

After reading this book, I am convinced that
Bratton is exactly what L.A. needs, and I applaud
Mayor Hahn for having the spine to hire the
most qualified person for the job, despite all
of the political pressure to make an appointment
based on race.