James W. Osterburg was long involved in the investigation process, actively engaged in the functions of teaching, research, and public service. For 20 years, he served the New York City Police Department (NYPD), where he assisted in the investigation of thousands of crimes. He testified in municipal, state, and federal courts on numerous occasions, and taught at the NYPD Police Academy. His academic affiliations include professorships at the University of Illinois at Chicago; Indiana University; the University of California, Berkeley; the Baruch School of Public Administration at the City University of New York; and Sam Houston State University (as Beto Professor of Criminal Justice). Osterburg was a Fellow and past president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) and was recipient of the 2010 Paul L. Kirk Award, the highest award conferred by the AAFS Criminalistics Section.

Richard H. Ward was, at the time of his death, Associate Vice President for Research and Special Programs at the University of New Haven. A former New York City Police Department (NYPD) Detective, Ward was an internationally recognized expert on issues related to criminal investigation, terrorism, and global crime. He earned a master's degree from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Ph.D. in criminology from the University of California, Berkeley. He began teaching at John Jay in 1970, eventually moving into administration, and in 1977, joined the University of Illinois, Chicago (UIC), where he was Vice Chancellor of administration for 16 years, then founder and Executive Director of UIC's Office of International Criminal Justice. From 2008 to 2012, he served as Dean of the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven. Ward visited more than 50 countries and taught in China, Malaysia, Thailand, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

Chris Rush Burkey is an Associate Professor in the Criminal Justice and Criminology Department at East Tennessee State University. She received her B.A. and M.A. in Criminal Justice and Criminology from East Tennessee State University and Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has published books and book chapters, as well as articles in peer-reviewed journals, including Deviant Behavior and Violence & Gender, and has worked with agencies handling program evaluation, prisoner re-entry, forensic training, and investigative policies and regulations.

Larry S. Miller is Distinguished Professor and former Chair in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at East Tennessee State University. He received his Bachelor of Science from ETSU, Master of Science from Eastern Kentucky University, and Ph.D. in Health and Safety with collaterals in Forensic Anthropology and Criminology from The University of Tennessee. Miller, who has worked as a police officer, criminal investigator, and crime laboratory director, teaches in the area of law enforcement. He is also co-author of Effective Police Supervision; Report Writing for Criminal Justice Professionals; Crime Scene Investigation; Police Photography; Huber and Headrick's Handwriting Identification: Facts and Fundamentals, and more.