Biography Section
Biography and Education
Josh Davis is a doctoral candidate at Texas State University, under the mentorship of Drs. Jeff Bumgarner and Scott Bowman. His dissertation is examining the perceptions of Texas law enforcement officers regarding the Texas School Guardian program, an initiative designed to keep Texas schools safe from shootings. His further research interests include perceptions of law enforcement, police culture, police training, and rural policing, using a qualitative approach. His recent work has been published in
Policing: An International Journal and presented at the American Society of Criminology. Prior to his time at Texas State, he earned a B.A. in Political Science and B.S. in Criminal Justice (both 2008), and an M.A. in Criminal Justice (2023) from Wichita State University. He has nearly a decade of experience as a law enforcement officer, serving in various roles including patrol officer, investigator, and school resource officer. Following his time in law enforcement he taught middle and high school, then trained law enforcement officers at Kansas's state law enforcement academy.
Research Interests
Policing, Rural Law Enforcement, Federal Law Enforcement, Police Culture, Qualitative Research Methods, Police & K-12 School Safety Options, Police Training, Serial Killers
