Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. (born January 22, 1937, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a bestselling American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States.
The son of a police officer, Wambaugh joined the U.S. Marines at age 17 (an element he works into several of his novels), and married at 18.
Wambaugh received an Associate's degree from Chaffey College, joined the Los Angeles Police Departme...
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Joseph Aloysius Wambaugh, Jr. (born January 22, 1937, in East Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a bestselling American writer known for his fictional and non-fictional accounts of police work in the United States.
The son of a police officer, Wambaugh joined the U.S. Marines at age 17 (an element he works into several of his novels), and married at 18.
Wambaugh received an Associate's degree from Chaffey College, joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1960 (eventually serving 14 years) and rose through the ranks from patrolman to detective sergeant. He attended California State University, Los Angeles, in his spare time, receiving Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees.
Wambaugh's unique perspective on the realities of police work led to his first novel, The New Centurions, which was published early in 1971 to critical acclaim and popular success. The success of the early books happened while Wambaugh was still working in the detective division. He reportedly remarked "I would...
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