Steven M. Cox earned his BS in psychology, MA in sociology, and PhD in sociology at the University of Illinois in Urbana–Champaign. Dr. Cox was a member of the Law Enforcement and Justice Administration faculty at Western Illinois University from 1975 to 2007. For the past 45 years, he has served as trainer and consultant to numerous criminal justice agencies in the United States and abroad and has worked with several universities in the area of course development. In addition, Dr. Cox has authored and co-authored numerous successful textbooks and articles.