'Supercop' who tackled New York and LA crimewaves could be heading for Scotland Yard after ban is lifted on foreign police chiefs

• David Cameron wanted Bill Bratton for London  in 2011 but was stopped
• Downing Street is changing rule that blocks  foreigners running UK forces
• Now the U.S. citizen says he wants to take  over the Metropolitan Police

  By Martin Robinson

PUBLISHED:11:47 GMT, 23  January 2013| UPDATED:13:31 GMT, 23 January 2013

The American 'supercop' who slashed crime on  the streets of Los Angeles and New York wants to take over at Scotland Yard now  foreigners can run British forces for the  first time.

Bill Bratton, 65, was David Cameron's preferred choice to become Metropolitan Police Commissioner when Sir Paul  Stephenson resigned over the phone hacking scandal in 2011 - but the rules  prevented it.

Home Secretary Theresa May is now ripping up  the directive that says chief constable candidates must be British citizens.

Mr Bratton, who crushed gangs and reformed policing in America, said last night that running the Met would be one of the  biggest jobs in world policing - and he wants it.

'There are three Western police agencies that  have great significance in international policing — London, New York and Los  Angeles,' he said.

'I've had the privilege of leading the two  police departments in the US  that have that international impact and that is  something that is part  of my interest in the Met, the impact of things you do  in that  department reverberates well beyond the immediate area of  responsibility.'

Mr Bratton was police chief in Boston, New  York and Los  Angeles and won acclaim for his zero-tolerance policy to beating  crime.

The Prime Minister wanted him to replace Sir  Paul  Stephenson but instead brought in as an adviser on gangs after riots tore  through Britain's major cities in the summer of 2011.

At the heart of Bratton's policing tactics  are the use of injunctions, which restrict the movements of those accused of being in gangs or involved in organised crime.

He also uses the 'broken windows' theory - where he demands every crime should be investigated, however small, as he believes it will also reduce more serious crimes too.

FULL STORY: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2266953/Supercop-Bill-Bratt...