Dr. Willits earned his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in 2012 and previously held a tenure-track position in the California State University system. His research interests explore issues related to policing (police organizational structure, policing outcomes, and policing data), the etiology of crime, violence, and the relationship between place and crime. His research makes use of a broad variety of methods, including regression analysis, GIS and spatial analysis, social network analysis, text-mining, and qualitative comparative analysis. Recent publications have appeared in Crime & Delinquency, Homicide Studies, Youth & Society, and Policing and Society.