Sir Hugh Orde said violence levels in the US were different to those in the UK UK police chiefs have reacted sceptically to plans for US "supercop" Bill Bratton to advise the government.
David Cameron has called for the former New York police chief to help address violence in English cities. Association of Chief Police Officers' head Sir Hugh Orde said: "I am not sure I want to learn about gangs from an area of America that has 400 of them."
There have been no reports of unrest this weekend, as extra police numbers have been maintained on city streets.
Speaking to the Independent on Sunday, Sir Hugh, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo), said: "It seems to me, if you've got 400 gangs, then you're not being very effective.
"If you look at the style of policing in the States, and their levels of violence, they are fundamentally different from here.
"What I suggested to the home secretary is a more sensible approach, maybe to look across far wider styles of policing and - more usefully - at European styles; they, like us, are bound by the European Convention.
"My sense is, when we've done that, we will find the British model is probably the top."
Tactics dispute Acting Metropolitan Police Commissioner Tim Godwin accused Parliament of offering "inconsistency of guidance" related to tackling public disorder.
"We sometimes are accused of excessive force and then we're accused of not being forceful enough," Mr Godwin said.
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Nick Clegg Deputy Prime MinisterThere is no rift between the police and the government, we fully support the police 100%”
Mr Cameron has suggested police were too timid, and with not enough numbers, in their early efforts tackling the riots.
Senior officers rejected that claim, and have also clashed with government over whether police or ministers planned the surge in officer numbers on Tuesday that put an end to widespread violence in the capital.Mr Godwin warned that anticipated cuts to officer numbers would make policing any future similar disturbances even harder.
He predicted that some 3,000 people or more could be brought before the courts in relation to the violence in London.
"That's yet to be worked through but we have lots and lots of images, we have lots and lots of CCTV and there were lots of people involved," he said.
In other developments related to last week's trouble in London, the East and West Midlands, Manchester, Liverpool and Gloucester:
- A man and a teenager have been charged with the murders of three men hit by a car in Birmingham. A peace rally is being held in the city on Sunday afternoon, with up to 20,000 people expected to attend
- The killers of a man shot dead in Croydon, south London, on Monday are believed to have been involved in looting, detectives have said. Three men have been arrested over the murder of of 26-year-old Trevor Ellis
- A 33-year-old man has become the fourth person arrested in connection with a fire that destroyed the Reeves Furniture store during rioting in Croydon on Monday
- Scotland Yard revealed that 1,401 people had now been arrested in connection with the unrest, and 808 charged. The force has released a further 44 images of suspects thought to be involved in rioting
- Images of suspects continue to be displayed to shoppers on a large city centre screen in Birmingham
- Merseyside Police have also released CCTV images of people it wants to speak to over the riots
- Greater Manchester Police says it has been "inundated" with tip-offs in response to its "Shop A Looter" campaign
- On a visit to riot-hit Hackney in east London, Labour leader Ed Miliband reiterated his calls for a public inquiry into the riots, saying it was imperative to have a "national discussion" looking at the issues behind the disturbances
As many Conservatives back plans to cut benefits and evict families of rioters from their homes, Mr Hughes warned such moves could "have the reverse effect to that intended".
The Bishop of Manchester, the Right Reverend Nigel McCulloch, has called for a return to moral values where respect for others is placed above possessions.
In a sermon for BBC Radio 4's Sunday Worship programme, Bishop McCulloch condemned "a me-first, ultra-consumerist culture, in which the quest for possession of things overrides a caring concern for others, and the key commandments become don't get caught and don't grass".
"This week we've had an unpleasant glimpse of the default position to which society inevitably returns when its moral imperatives are forgotten," he said.
'Different style' Other senior police figures have also spoken out, saying they share Sir Hugh's concerns about the role of Mr Bratton.
Ian Hanson, of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, called it a "slap in the face" and said Britain did not need someone from "5,000 miles away".
"There is anger, there is disappointment, a degree of incredulity as well," he told ITV News.
Metropolitan Police Federation chairman John Tully agreed, saying he did not think American advice would help.
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Bill Bratton: "My assignment is to focus on the American experience dealing with gangs"
And former Scotland Yard Commander John O'Connor said: "The Americans didn't cure the social problems in New York. What they did is they locked people up. That's how zero tolerance works. We haven't got the heart for that over here."
In a statement, Downing Street added that Mr Bratton had long-standing links with British policing and they thanked him for agreeing "to make himself available for a series of meetings in the UK in the autumn to share his experience of tackling gangs".
Tough tactics On a visit to Manchester on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg played down any dispute between the government and the police.
"There is no rift... we fully support the police 100%," he said.
"They have done a brilliant job in really difficult circumstances. The police themselves have said they want to review what happened and look at tactics and learn lessons."
Earlier, Chancellor George Osborne dismissed calls to reverse cuts to police budgets.
He welcomed the advice from Mr Bratton, saying he would help tackle the "deep-seated social problems" behind the riots.
Mr Bratton - credited with restoring law and order in Los Angeles after riots in 1992 - said: "You can't arrest your way out of the problem.
"Arrest is certainly appropriate for the most violent, the incorrigible, but so much of it can be addressed in other ways and it's not just a police issue, it is in fact a societal issue."
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