BOOK REVIEW

The Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic

The Turnaround: How America's Top Cop Reversed the Crime Epidemic

In Turnaround ? Bratton describes the police initiatives that led to these successes. Bratton and his peers used computer mapping to pinpoint crime hot spots and then cleaned up the areas using all the tools of law enforcement. One of the favored tools was "quality of life enforcement"--curtailing minor crimes like panhandling ? squeegeeing ? and prostitution in order to make the streets seem less inviting to worse criminals. Bratton made police commanders from all districts of the city accountable ? requiring them to report on progress and problems in their locales ? during frequent departmental meetings. Bratton is now a consultant to police departments across the nation ? so ? like it or not ? his style of law enforcement may soon be coming to a city near you. This is not a page-turner or a masterful work of literature ? but Bratton's ideas about curbing crime should be of interest to both those involved in law enforcement and regular people who are concerned about crime.

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. 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.

This ...