The office of British Prime Minister David Cameron says former New York police commissioner William Bratton has agreed to act as an unpaid consultant to British authorities on how to curb street violence. The announcement yesterday follows several days of riots that erupted in London and other cities across Britain. The violence was originally touched off by the fatal shooting of a 29-year-old man in London's economically depressed Tottenham neighborhood. Authorities have arrested more than 1,700 people across the country, and courts have been busy dealing with a massive backlog of cases. Five people were killed in the violence. Prime Minister Cameron has said he would look to the United States for solutions to gang violence and seek advice from U.S. cities that have fought gangs, including Boston, Los Angeles and New York.