John C. "Jock" Chisholm ( 1896 – July 4, 1958) was the first chief constable of the Toronto Police Department and

Metropolitan Toronto Police Force The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police se ...

until his death in 1958. Chisholm was the first Toronto chief to be appointed with policing experience. Chisholm's father was a lay preacher in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

City Prison when John was growing up, giving him an interest in

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 ...

."Chief John Chisholm: Among world's best, colleagues say", ''Globe and Mail'', July 5, 1958 He was educated at the

High School of Dundee The High School of Dundee is a private, co-educational, day school in Dundee, Scotland, which provides nursery, primary and secondary education to just over one thousand pupils. Its foundation has been dated to 1239, and it is the only private sc ...

Career

He served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the artillery in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

(modern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) and, after the war, decided to enter policing. After finding no openings with the

Hong Kong Police The Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) is the primary law enforcement, investigative agency, and largest Hong Kong Disciplined Services, disciplined service under the Security Bureau (Hong Kong), Security Bureau of Hong Kong. Pursuant to the one c ...

, he came to Canada"Chisholm worked self to death, staff reveal", ''Toronto Daily Star'', July 5, 1958 where he joined the Toronto Police Department in 1920 he became an acting detective in three years, skipped a rank, to become detective sergeant in 1930 and went on to become the youngest inspector and then youngest deputy chief in the department's history in 1945 before becoming chief constable on the City of Toronto Police Department in January 1946. Chisholm was found dead in his automobile in

High Park High Park is a municipal park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. High Park is a mixed recreational and natural park, with sporting facilities, cultural facilities, educational facilities, gardens, playgrounds and a zoo. One-third of the park remains ...

having killed himself by a single shotgun wound to the head."Chief J. Chisholm Shot Dead In Car", ''Toronto Daily Star'', July 4, 1958 He had been suffering from ill health since the previous Christmas - Police Commission Chairman C. O. Bick told the ''Daily Star'' that his "nerves" were bad, and had been rumoured for several weeks to be considering submitting his resignation. He had also been in severe pain for several months since suffering a fall."Chief Takes Own Life In High Park", ''Globe and Mail'', July 5, 1958 The Metropolitan Toronto Police Force had been created in 1957 by the merger of 13 police forces with Chisholm, who had led the Toronto Police Force as Chief Constable since 1946, was put in charge of the new, much larger, organization as Chief of Police. Chisholm had often clashed with Bick, the first chairman of the new Metropolitan Toronto Police Commission, particularly over questions of authority. Bick asserted that "under the Police Act, the control of the police department is in the hands of the commission", not the chief. Chisolm was unable to cope with the strain of managing the merging of thirteen separate police departments and this is thought to have led to his suicide."Politics of policing the police; In Toronto board's 47-year history, tensions often flared up Latest row pales beside battle between first chair and chief" by Betsy Powell, ''Toronto Star'', 31 May 2004

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chisholm, John 1890s births 1958 suicides 1958 deaths Year of birth uncertain People educated at the High School of Dundee Suicides by firearm in Ontario Toronto police chiefs