William J. Bratton Quotes

Fighting crime is not cheap, because it requires boots on the ground.

Putting cops on streets is the most effective way to combat crime.

To control violence [and other crime] requires a police system of professional investigations and good equipment. We don’t have it.

My 26 years experience as a police officer and official, including command of two police districts, tells me that unfortunately the only short-term response that can counter the on-street violence and offer neighborhoods relief from crime and drugs is aggressive law enforcement.... Cities and states have made police the institution of first response rather than of last resort in addressing this crisis.

The police should be focused on policing criminal activity, and that's sort of the beginning, the middle and the end of it for me.

As governor, there isn't a lot I can do beyond that to crack down on crime. Law enforcement is really a local issue. It's the cops' job to tighten down on criminals.

All issues of crime are better addressed at the state level.

Stopping crime before it occurs is the most effective crime fighting tool of all.

We can play politics, or we can reduce crime.

It is time to put more cops on the beat and remove our most violent repeat offenders from our neighborhood streets.

Cops on the beat can stop problems before the damage spreads.

The essence to reducing violent crime in our society is to take these people [criminals] off the street.

“I’m going to stop crime in the streets.” A president is pressured to make that promise even though a President can’t do anything about street crime.

Arresting people is not going to lower the crime rate

Crime prevention has to become a first priority.

Targets don't fight crime; they hinder the fight against crime.

No place is unpoliceable; no crime is immune to better enforcement efforts.

No one wants dangerous criminals in our communities.

When crime was spiking in our communities, Dad wrote the crime bill that put 100,000 cops on the streets and led to an eight-year drop in crime across the country.

There are many factors that affect crime rates. But we recognize that the main reason crime has decreased has always been - and always will be - the dangerous and stressful work done by state and local law enforcement officers day in and day out.

Law enforcement in America is a force for good.

In a well governed state, there are few punishments, not because there are many pardons, but because criminals are rare; it is when a state is in decay that the multitude of crimes is a gaurantee of impunity.

Lives are saved when those potential killers are confronted by a police officer, a strong police presence and actual, honest-to-goodness, up-close 'What are you guys doing on this corner at 1 o'clock in the morning' policing. We need to be careful it doesn't drift away from us in the age of viral videos, or there will be profound consequences.

There's a simple way to solve the crime problem: obey the law; punish those who do not.