David Carter

Director, Research

David L. Carter, PhD, LLD (Hon.), is the Director of Research for the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR). He is also a professor at the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University (MSU), teaching both graduate and undergraduate courses.

As IIR’s director of research, Dr. Carter oversees the development of specific and practical research to support program goals, objectives, and deliverables. He conducts research for violent crime, terrorism, and intelligence-related areas; provides technical assistance to law enforcement agencies developing fusion centers; and provides specialized instruction to conferences and training programs. Dr. Carter provides training for several Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA)-funded programs, including BJA’s Homicide Investigation Management Training, State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training Program, and Criminal Intelligence for the Chief Executive briefing. He served as team lead for three BJA homicide investigation projects.

Dr. Carter also serves as the director of MSU’s Intelligence Program and frequently consults for many police departments, both domestically and overseas. Before joining MSU in 1985, he served as chairman of the Department of Criminal Justice at the University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley for nine years. Previously, he was a police officer for both the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and Central Missouri State University.

Dr. Carter served as project director for a project funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to help state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies develop an intelligence capacity. During his career, he has been a trainer, a consultant, and an adviser to many law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia and has instructed on such diverse topics as organized crime, community policing, law enforcement intelligence, and computer crime. He has presented training sessions at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) National Academy; the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar; the International Law Enforcement Academy in Budapest, Hungary; and the police “command colleges” of Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Texas, and Wisconsin. Dr. Carter’s other areas of expertise include police and policing issues, international policy for policing and crime, police policy and management issues, and police behavior.

In 1991, Dr. Carter was the first professor selected for a faculty exchange program with the FBI’s Behavioral Science Services Unit. He has authored or coauthored several books and a variety of articles and monographs, all related to policing issues. His book titled The Police and the Community is in its seventh edition and was published by Macmillan/Prentice-Hall in 2002. Dr. Carter also serves on editorial boards for numerous professional publications.

Dr. Carter holds a doctor of philosophy degree in criminal justice administration from Sam Houston State University and an honorary doctor of laws degree from the University of Central Missouri. In 2013, Dr. Carter received the O. W. Wilson Award from the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences for outstanding lifelong service to the police profession, research, education, and service. He also has received the University Distinguished Alumni Award from Sam Houston State University, the Outstanding Service Award from the Police Section of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, special recognition from the Police Association of College Education for outstanding contributions to the furtherance of higher education for police officers, and the Outstanding Alumni Award from the College of Criminal Justice, Sam Houston State University.