London
Britain has created a new government agency, modeled on the U.S. FBI, that will fight organized crime. The Serious Organized Crime Agency will replace the crime and investigatory units of several other agencies, and will include police detectives as well as accountants and computer analysts. Home Secretary David Blunkett, who announced the creation of the agency this week, said SOCA would target the international gangs that “make their millions from human misery, trafficking in drugs and people.” On the shortlist to head the agency is an American, former New York City police chief Bill Bratton. Blunkett has long admired Bratton’s “zero-tolerance” policies, which were credited with slashing New York’s crime rate.
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