Orlando Winfield Wilson (May 15, 1900–October 18, 1972), also known as O.W. Wilson, was an influential leader in policing, having served as Superintendent of Police of the Chicago Police Department, chief of police in Fullerton, California and Wichita, Kansas, and authored several books on policing.
Wilson was born on May 15, 1900, in Veblen, South Dakota, and moved with his family to California. In 1921, he enrolled in the University of Californ...
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Orlando Winfield Wilson (May 15, 1900–October 18, 1972), also known as O.W. Wilson, was an influential leader in policing, having served as Superintendent of Police of the Chicago Police Department, chief of police in Fullerton, California and Wichita, Kansas, and authored several books on policing.
Wilson was born on May 15, 1900, in Veblen, South Dakota, and moved with his family to California. In 1921, he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, majoring in criminology and studying under August Vollmer. He 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.
O.W. Wilson, together with his wife Ruth Elinor Wilson, had one daughter. Wilson had another son and daughter, by a previous marriage.
In 1925, O.W. Wilson became chief of police of the Fullerton Police Department for two years. He then spent two years as an investigator...
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