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. Wilson authored several books, including
Police Records,
Police Planning, and the highly influential work,
Police Administration which was first published in 1943. While at Berkeley, Wilson also served as a consultant, advising cities including
Dallas,
Nashville,
Birmingham, and
Louisville, Kentucky on reorganization of their police agencies. ==Police professionalism==