NBC News has hired former NYPD, LAPD and Boston PD police commissioner Bill Bratton as an analyst for its networks and platforms, including MSNBC and NBC News Digital.
Bratton was one of the most high-profile police chiefs in the U.S. in the 1990s and 2000s, with his anti-crime efforts drawing national attention. His wife, Rikki Klieman, is a legal analyst for CBS News, and a former reporter for TruTV.
Bratton currently works in the private sector, leading consultation firm The Bratton Group and Bratton Technologies, which operates Blue Line, a secure social network for law enforcement.
Bratton appeared on-air for a number of networks following the bombings in Boston. With so many stories related to the issue of law enforcement, TV news organizations have been aggressive in scooping up correspondents and contributors with knowledge in that field. CBS in particular has drawn acclaim for the stories generated by correspondent John Miller, a former law enforcement official himself.
Update: A source tells TVNewser that Bratton and Miller are actually very close, with Bratton giving Miller his first law enforcement job.
More information, after the jump.
FORMER POLICE COMMISSIONER BILL BRATTON TO CONTRIBUTE TO NBC NEWS AND MSNBC AS AN ANALYST
NEW YORK – June 27, 2013 – Former NYPD and Boston Police Commissioner and LAPD Police Chief Bill Bratton has joined NBC News and MSNBC as an analyst specializing in criminal justice policy and practice, domestic intelligence gathering and the role of local law enforcement in counter-terrorism. His analysis will appear across the various platforms of NBC News and MSNBC and their digital properties.
Known as one of the country’s premier police chiefs, Bratton is the only person to have led four of the largest police forces in the United States. As Chief of the New York City Transit Police, Boston Police Commissioner, New York City Police Commissioner and Chief of the LAPD, he revitalized police morale and cut crime significantly in all four posts. In New York, Bratton led the development of CompStat, a command and accountability system designed to focus the work of police on stopping crimes before they happen. He is also credited with improving the LAPD’s relationships with the city’s many diverse communities and also led the creation of their Real Time and Predictive Policing initiatives.
Currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Bratton Group LLC, he provides a wide range of collaborative consulting, leadership, management and public safety network services to both the public and private sector in the U.S. and abroad. Bratton is also the CEO of Bratton Technologies, a company that operates BlueLine, the first secure, global law enforcement professional social media network. In addition, Bratton is the Vice Chairman of the Homeland Security Advisory Council, whose members provide advice and recommendations on a variety of homeland security issues to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Bratton was recently named the most innovative figure in criminal justice according to the results of a recent survey commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance. Conducted by the Center for Court Innovation, the survey polled leaders of criminal justice agencies across the country.
Among his many honors, Bratton was recognized in 2009 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II with the honorary title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was also awarded the Schroeder Brothers Memorial Medal in 1976, the Boston Police Department’s highest award of valor.
A U.S. Army veteran who saw service in Vietnam, Bratton began his police career in 1970 as an officer with the Boston Police department. His critically acclaimed autobiography TURNAROUND with Peter Knobler was published by Random House in 1998. In addition, Mr. Bratton and Zachary Tumin, a senior researcher at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, co-authored a management leadership book, COLLABORATE OR PERISH that was published by Random House in January 2012.