IT'S COME TO THIS IN BRITAIN – AT 10:18 A.M. ET:   Great Britain, stunned this week by riots in a number of its cities, and by an erratic and sometimes ineffective police response, is turning to the United States for help.  From Fox:

Former New York Police Commissioner William Bratton will advise the British government on gangs in the wake of rioting in London, Prime Minister David Cameron's office said Friday.

Downing Street said in a statement that Cameron had spoken with Bratton earlier in the day and thanked him for agreeing to make himself available for a series of meetings in the U.K. this fall to share his expertise tackling gang violence.

Bratton "will be providing this advice in a personal capacity and on an unpaid basis," it added.

Bratton told The Associated Press on Friday evening, however, that he's giving a free consultation that he hopes will turn into a paid contract.

Cameron told British lawmakers earlier this week that he would welcome Bratton's input following a flurry of criticism over police response to rioting in London.

Bratton -- who gained fame by fighting crime with innovation and bravado as he headed police departments in New York, Boston and Los Angeles -- confirmed to the AP in a phone interview that Cameron had called him Friday seeking his expertise.

COMMENT:  My old pal, Fabian of Scotland Yard, one of the world's great detectives, must be turning over in his grave.  And Sherlock Holmes, nemesis of the Yard?  A big smile and a puff on the pipe.

The fact is, Scotland Yard is just a police department, and one that has come under the thumb of political correctness.  The Brits need help, and Bratton is the one to supply it.  In the face of loud skepticism, Bratton's innovations in New York, joined with the leadership of Mayor Rudy Giuliani, reduced the city's murder rate by 80%, a spectacular accomplishment.  The left, of course, disparaged everything that was done, and cried "fascism," as the left does six times a day, but New York emerged a stronger, freer city.

Maybe someday there'll be a TV series, "Bratton of the Yard." 

August 13, 2011