David Wilson (born 23 April 1957) is a Scottish emeritus professor of
criminology
Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
at
Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 an ...
.
A former prison governor, he is well known as a
criminologist
Criminology (from Latin , 'accusation', and Ancient Greek , ''-logia'', from λόγος ''logos'', 'word, reason') is the interdisciplinary study of crime and deviant behaviour. Criminology is a multidisciplinary field in both the behaviou ...
specialising in murder and
serial killer
A serial killer (also called a serial murderer) is a person who murders three or more people,An offender can be anyone:
*
*
*
*
* (This source only requires two people) with the killings taking place over a significant period of time in separat ...
s
through his work with various British police forces, academic publications, books and media appearances.
Early life
Born in
Sauchie
Sauchie is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth and south of the Ochil Hills, within the council area of Clackmannanshire. Sauchie has a population of around 6000 and is located northeast of Alloa and ...
,
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...
, David Wilson was raised on a
dairy farm
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for the long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for the eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a h ...
outside
Carluke
Carluke (; ) is a town that lies in the heart of the Lanarkshire countryside in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, northwest of Lanark and southeast of Wishaw.
Carluke is largely a commuter town, with a variety of small stores and supermarkets a ...
,
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary authorities of Scotland. It borders the south-east of the Glasgow City council area and contains some of Greater Glasgow's suburban towns, as well as many rural towns and villages. It also shares bor ...
with his three sisters.
[ He studied at the ]University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
(1975–79), Selwyn College, Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
, and at the Cambridge Institute of Criminology
The Institute of Criminology is the criminological research institute within the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The Institute is one of the oldest criminological research institutes in Europe, and has exerted a strong influence ...
, where he gained a PhD in 1983. He was awarded the St Andrew's Scholarship of New York, 1979–80. and became a National Teaching Fellow in 2012.[ He wrote about his childhood experiences and a murder that took place in the town of Carluke in 1973 in his book ''Signs of Murder'' (2020 ]
Sphere
.
Career
Her Majesty's Prison Service
Recruited directly from Cambridge, he joined Her Majesty's Prison Service
His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (formerly the National Offender Management Service), which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and ...
as an Assistant Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in 1984. It is said by some that at the age of 29 he became the youngest governor in the country.[ In fact he was the Assistant Governor in charge of Finnamore Wood camp, a small annexe to HM YOI Huntercombe.][ He then worked at HMP Grendon where he ran the sex offenders' treatment programme, HMP Woodhill, and ]HMYOI Finnamore Wood
HMYOI Finnamore Wood, formerly known as HMYCC Finnamore Wood or Finnamore Wood Borstal, was an open prison located 1 km North of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Histo ...
.
While at HMP Woodhill, Wilson helped design and managed the two units for the 12 most disruptive prisoners in the country. This experience brought him into contact with some of the most notorious offenders of the last 30 years, including Charles Bronson
Charles Bronson (born Charles Dennis Buchinsky; November 3, 1921 – August 30, 2003) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in action films and his "granite features and brawny physique". Bronson was born into extreme poverty in ...
and Dennis Nilsen
Dennis Andrew Nilsen (23 November 1945 – 12 May 2018) was a Scottish serial killer and Necrophilia, necrophile who murdered at least twelve young men and boys between 1978 and 1983. Convicted at the Old Bailey of six counts of murder and two ...
.[
Latterly he was Head of ]Prison Officer
A prison officer (PO) or corrections officer (CO), also known as a correctional law enforcement officer or less formally as a prison guard, is a uniformed law enforcement official responsible for the custody, supervision, safety, and regulation ...
and Operational Training in the Prison Service, on whose behalf he made official visits to Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
and the United States. It was after he returned from a trip to advise on penal reform in Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
on behalf of the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; , CdE) is an international organisation with the goal of upholding human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it is Europe's oldest intergovernmental organisation, represe ...
, and, noticing how much better the prisons were there, that he resigned from Her Majesty's Prison Service in protest at prison conditions.[ In 2001 he completed a report of the 4,200 Muslim prisoners in British prisons and his review concluded there were no examples of extremist recruiting.
Wilson has written about these experiences in his memoir, ''My Life with Murderers''.
]
Professor of Criminology
After a short time with the Prison Reform Trust
The Prison Reform Trust (PRT) was founded in 1981 in London, England, by a small group of prison reform campaigners who were unhappy with the direction in which the Howard League for Penal Reform was heading, concentrating more on community puni ...
, Wilson joined University of Central England
Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic in 1971 and gained university status in ...
in Birmingham (now Birmingham City University
Birmingham City University (abbrev. BCU) is a university in Birmingham, England. Initially established as the Birmingham College of Art with roots dating back to 1843, it was designated as a polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic in 1971 an ...
), was given a professorship in 2000 and made emeritus Professor in 2017. A member of the British Society of Criminology
British Society of Criminology (BSC) is a British organization aiming to further the interests and knowledge of both scholars and practitioners involved in any aspect of professional activity, teaching, research or public education related to cri ...
, his research covers aspects of prisons and imprisonment, murder and serial murder.
Wilson has advised various police forces as a criminologist, and in 2006 was also involved in the Ipswich serial murder case, as an advisor to Sky News
Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...
. Subsequently, Steve Wright was arrested and prosecuted for this series of murders.[ Wilson co-authored a book with the former Sky broadcast journalist Paul Harrison about their experiences on this case. Wilson also approached convicted murderer ]Peter Tobin
Peter Britton Tobin (27 August 1946 – 8 October 2022) was a Scottish convicted serial killer and sex offender who served a whole life order at HM Prison Edinburgh for three murders committed between 1991 and 2006. Police also investigated T ...
to discuss the Bible John
Bible John is the moniker given to an unidentified serial killer who is believed to have murdered three young women between 1968 and 1969 in Glasgow, Scotland.
The victims of Bible John were all brunettes between the ages of 25 and 32, all of ...
killings, but did not secure a meeting with Tobin.
Wilson acted as: Vice-chair of the Howard League for Penal Reform
The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921 ...
(1998–2014); Vice-president of New Bridge; and Chair of the Forum on Prisoner Education (2000–2006). He is a former Chair of the Commission on English Prisons Today, whose president was Cherie Blair
Cherie, Lady Blair (; born 23 September 1954), also known professionally as Cherie Booth, is an English barrister and writer. She is the spouse of former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tony Blair.
Early life and education
Booth was born ...
, and is the current Chair of the Friends of Grendon Prison. In 2012, he was made a National Teaching Fellow of England and Wales.[
]
Writing
Wilson has published widely on the criminal justice system
Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...
generally and prisons specifically, and was the Editor of the '' Howard Journal of Criminal Justice'' (2000–2015), and is the author of more than 20 books.[
]
Media
Wilson appears regularly on television and radio, both as a commentator about the criminal justice system and as a presenter. He is a regular contributor to the press and writes mostly for ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' and the ''Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
''. He writes a regular column in The Herald. On television he presented four series of ''The Crime Squad'' for BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
, and also ''Leave No Trace'' and ''Too Young to Die?'' about the plight of young people on death row in the USA. On BBC2
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...
he presented ''Who Killed Ivan the Terrible?'' and was an expert on the game show ''Identity''. On Channel 5 he co-presented ''Banged Up'', which was nominated for a Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
award. Wilson developed and presented two series of '' Killers Behind Bars: The Untold Story'', which was developed initially from the standpoint of an academic look at criminal profiling to counter that shown in fictional series such as '' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''.[
In 2016, Wilson presented the critically acclaimed '' Interview with a Murderer'' on Channel 4, about the murder of ]Carl Bridgewater
The Bridgewater Four are four men who were tried and found guilty of killing 13-year-old paperboy Carl Bridgewater, who was shot in the head at close range near Stourbridge, England, in 1978. In February 1997, after almost two decades of imprisonm ...
. This documentary won the Broadcast Award and the Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Award in 2017. By 2023, Wilson had presented 4 series of the true crime show, ''David Wilson's Crime Files''. All series had 10 episodes, with episodes in the first series being an hour long and episodes in the subsequent series being half an hour long. It was broadcast on BBC Scotland
BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...
. He co-presents Channel 4's ''In the Footsteps of Killers'' and is a regular on ITV's ''This Morning''.
Wilson appeared on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
's ''Ramblings'' series on 1 October 2020, walking with Clare Balding
Clare Victoria Balding (born 29 January 1971) is an English broadcast journalist and author. She currently presents programmes for BBC Sport and Channel 4, and previously for BT Sport. She also formerly presented ''Good Morning Sunday'' on BBC ...
from Wicken, Northamptonshire
Wicken is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire. It is about one mile north of the A422 road between Milton Keynes and Buckingham and forms part of West Northamptonshire district. At the time of the 2001 census, ...
to Leckhampstead, Buckinghamshire whilst discussing his life.
Wilson gives public lectures and delivers lectures for schools through the compan
Ecademi
He has made several theatre tours – most recently in 2024 with the novelist Marcel Theroux. In 2016 the TV drama '' Dark Angel'' attributed his book ''Mary Ann Cotton: Britain's First Female Serial Killer'' as its inspiration.
Personal life
Wilson is married to Anne, a practising lawyer. The couple live in Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
and have two children. He played and still enjoys watching rugby and supports Northampton Saints and Glasgow Warriors.
Publications (books)
*
*
*David Wilson & John Ashton (2001) ''What Everyone in Britain Should Know About Crime & Punishment,'' Oxford University Press. .
*David Wilson, John Ashton & Douglas Sharp (2002) ''What Everyone in Britain Should Know About the Police,'' Oxford University Press. .
*
*
* – This co-author is the Sky broadcast journalist and not the former Police Officer of the same name.
* – This co-author is the Sky broadcast journalist and not the former Police Officer of the same name.
*
*
*
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*David Wilson (2020) ''Signs of Murder''. Sphere. .
*David Wilson (2021) ''A Plot to Kill''. Sphere. .
*David, Wilson (2023). ''Murder At Home: How our safest space is where we're most in danger''. Hachette UK. Hardback Published 23 March 2023
References
External links
Professor David Wilson website
David Wilson BCU home page
Articles at ''The Guardian'' newspaper
*
BBC News article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, David
1957 births
Living people
People from Clackmannanshire
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Alumni of Selwyn College, Cambridge
British prison governors
Academics of Birmingham City University
British criminologists
British prison reformers
Scottish television personalities