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Biography:

Matthew Bills, Ph.D., is the Research Associate for the Correctional Management Institute of Texas (CMIT). Dr. Bills earned his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology in 2015 from Sam Houston State University and his Master of Arts in Criminal Justice and Criminology from Sam Houston State University in 2017. He earned his Doctorate in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University in December 2021.

As CMIT’s Research Associate, Dr. Bills helps CMIT further its research agenda and has most recently been working on an outcome evaluation of the National Jail Leadership Command Academy, a national training program for mid-level jail managers. Dr. Bills also works with the Specialty Court Resource Center in its endeavors to provide materials, resources, program reviews, and assistance to the nearly 200 specialty courts in Texas and has recently begun organizing a process evaluation of the Galveston County Mental Health Court.

During his graduate school tenure, Dr. Bills was able to take part in a grant project funded by the National Institute of Justice, which examined correctional officer stress and burnout in Texas prisons. He also worked for the Crime Victims’ Institute of Texas (CVI) for three years, where he assisted with a grant funded by the Office of Violence Against Women, which assessed law enforcement response to victims of interpersonal and sexual violence. Dr. Bills also prepared and disseminated technical reports and translational research to criminal justice practitioners throughout the state of Texas during his time with CVI.

Dr. Bills has been able to participate in numerous other research opportunities, both as the lead researcher and as a research team member, with projects addressing a range of criminal justice topics, including state hate crime legislation, societal attitudes toward vulnerable populations, and institutions of higher education’s response to sexual violence. His research has appeared in the Journal of School Violence, Journal of Homosexuality, Aggression and Violent Behavior, Journal of Aggression, Conflict, and Peace Research, and Criminal Justice Policy Review.