Philip Lyons spent several years as a law enforcement officer. He reached detective, specializing in crimes involving children, before leaving full-time law enforcement. He serves as the Executive Director for the Texas Regional Center for Policing Innovation (TRCPI) as well as a faculty professor at the Sam Houston State University in the College of Criminal Justice (1995 to present). TRCPI is one of more than a dozen Regional Community Policing Institutes nationwide, they are part of the only network of its kind providing training and technical assistance on a variety of community policing and other, timely law enforcement topics to state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve. TRCPI is committed to fostering police-community relationships leading to innovative methods of reducing crime and improving neighborhood safety. Dr. Lyons completed his graduate work at the University of Nebraska program in Law and Psychology. He earned his J.D. (law degree) from the College of Law and his Master of Arts and Ph.D. from the Graduate College with concentrations in forensic psychology, a specialty track which overlaps the law, psychology and clinical psychology training programs. Dr. Lyons has written or coauthored dozens of scholarly and professional works, including books, book chapters, and journal articles.