Diana Scharff Peterson, PhD, has nearly 20 years of experience in higher education teaching in the areas of research methods; comparative criminal justice systems; race, gender, class, and crime; statistics; criminology; sociology; and drugs and behavior at seven different institutions of higher education. Dr. Peterson has been the chairperson of three different criminal justice programs over the past 15 years and has published in the areas of criminal justice, social work, higher education, sociology, business, and management. Her research interests include issues in policing (training and education) and community policing, assessment and leadership in higher education, family violence, and evaluation research and program development. She was Professor of Criminology and Graduate Program Director at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin. She has published over 30 articles in areas of criminal justice, sociology, social work, business management, and higher education and is the Liaison and Representative for the International Police Executive Symposium (consultative status) for quarterly annual meetings at the United Nations meetings in New York City, Geneva, and Vienna including the Commission on the Status of Women in NewYork, New York. Dr. Peterson chaired and organized the 25th Annual Meeting of the International Police Executive Symposium entitled Crime Prevention & Community Resilience: Police Role with Victims, Youth, Ethnic Minorities and Other Partners, in Sophia, Bulgaria, July 27–August 1, 2014 (27 countries and 43 presenters). She formerly served as the Managing Editor of Police Practice and Research: An International Journal.Dilip K. Das, PhD, is the President, International Police Executive Symposium (IPES) and Editor-in-Chief, Police Practice and Research: An International Journal. After his Master’s degree in English literature, Dr. Das joined the Indian Police Service, an elite national service. After 14 years in the service as a Police Executive, including Chief of Police, he moved to the USA in 1979 where he achieved another Master’s degree in Criminal Justice as well as a doctorate in the same discipline. Dr.Das has authored, edited, and co-edited more than 40 books, and numerous articles. He is the Series Editor to Advances in Police Theory and Practice and International Police Executive Symposium Co-Publications. He has traveled extensively throughout the world in comparative police research, as a visiting professor in various universities, including organizing annual conferences of the IPES, and as a Human Rights Consultant to the United Nations. Das has received several faculty excellence awards and was a Distinguished Faculty Lecturer.
