Attack on Sherlocks of the Met

UNITED States police chief Bill Bratton has criticised the "Sherlock Holmes-style policing" of Scotland Yard in tackling London's knife crime.

The Los Angeles police chief famous for his zero-tolerance methods said the force had been too focused on responding to crimes rather than intervening to prevent them in the first place.

He was also critical of the courts in Britain for allowing offenders to get away with cautions for possession of knives - a policy which, he said, sent a green light to teenage criminals.

Mr Bratton, 61, speaking in an interview on London Tonight, said intervention and early detection were the key to beating knife crime. He said: "If you fix the broken windows, you don't end up with entire streets full of fear."

The officer, who has halved the number of gang killings in Los Angeles, was recently tipped as a contender to become the next Commissioner of the Met. The idea has been ruled out by officials but he could be brought over to act as an adviser to Scotland Yard.

Mr Bratton, who also slashed crime as chief in New York, said police could not win the fight against knife crime if judges handed out soft sentences.

The answer to the problem, he said, is for the courts to get tough on offenders and if they failed to act, then the Government should force their hand.

He praised the original Robert Peel school of policing which had a bobby on every corner. In recent interviews he has said police in London should focus on the neighbourhood policing scheme which was introduced by the outgoing Met chief Sir Ian Blair.

The LA police chief has met Mayor Boris Johnson to give advice on what he believes should be done to combat youth and gang crime. In a recent interview he described the job of Commissioner of the Met as the most challenging police job in the world.

Recent figures show knife crime in London falling by 10 per cent after police mounted a massive stop and search campaign across the city.