O. W. Wilson

Orlando Winfield Wilson (May 15, 1900 – October 18, 1972), also known as O. W. Wilson, was an American police officer, later becoming a leader in policing along with authoring several books on policing. Wilson served as Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department, chief of police in Fullerton, California and Wichita, Kansas.

Background Early life and career Wilson was born on May 15, 1900, in Veblen, South Dakota, and moved with his family to California. In 1921, Wilson enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in criminology and studying under August Vollmer. Wilson graduated in 1924, with a Bachelor of Arts degree. While at Berkeley, he also worked as a police officer with the Berkeley Police Department; such education for a police officer was rare at the time. During World War II, Wilson served as a provost marshal with the U.S. Army and retired from the service with the rank of full colonel in the military police. Wilson remained in Europe until 1947 as an advisor to local law enforcement.

Policing In 1925, Wilson became chief of police of the Fullerton Police Department for two years.

Chicago In 1960, Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley, in the wake of a major police scandal, established a commission headed by Wilson to find a new police commissioner. In the end, Daley decided to appoint Wilson himself, as Commissioner. Beginning on March 2, 1960,

During his tenure, Wilson recruited more African American officers, promoted black sergeants, and called for police restraint in racial conflicts. Wilson also expanded programs that targeted low-income and high-crime neighborhoods with intensified policing, including a focus on minor violations (a precursor to later "broken windows" policing strategies). Arrests of black Chicagoans increased dramatically and disproportionately during Wilson's tenure. He also advocated for the legalizing of stop and frisk practices and opposed the civil disobedience tactics of the Chicago Freedom Movement. He also served as director of the New England Traffic Officers' Training School, which offered intensive two-week courses to police officers on traffic safety and enforcement. He served as the President of what would become the American Society of Criminology from 1942 through 1949. From 1950 to 1960, Wilson was the dean of Berkeley's School of Criminology. These ideas remained popular until the advent of community policing. Wilson believed that preventive patrol and rapid response to calls would be effective, creating a sense of police omnipresence among criminals. Wilson had another son and daughter, by a previous marriage. After retiring from the Chicago Police Department in 1967, Wilson lived in Poway, California until his death in 1972.