Criminal Justice

Dr. Scott Belshaw holds a Ph.D in Juvenile Justice from Prairie View A&M University, a member of the Texas A&M University System. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences and Psychology from the University of Houston. He also holds both a Master of Liberal Arts from Houston Baptist University and a Master of Arts in Criminology from the University of Houston - Clear Lake. Dr. Belshaw’s Ph.D dissertation examined sexually abused females in the juvenile justice system. His dissertation research has been cited and used by numerous advocacy groups and organizations.

Dr. Belshaw is currently an assistant professor (tenure-track) of criminal justice at the University of North Texas. Dr. Belshaw also serves as an adjunct professor of forensic psychology at Argosy University in the Dallas area. Dr. Belshaw has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in criminal justice and psychology. Dr. Belshaw has also served on thesis and dissertation committees for students at the University of North Texas. Dr. Belshaw has also served on staff and faculty search committee at UNT and has served on student conduct committees for the office of the dean of students at UNT. Dr. Belshaw also serves as faculty and alumni advisor for the Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) Men’s Social Fraternity at the University of North Texas.

Prior to entering academia, Dr. Belshaw's criminal justice experience includes working for the Harris County Texas Community Supervision and Corrections Department as a probation officer and court chief probation officer. He also served as the gang intelligence officer for the state jail in Houston, Texas. During his tenure working in the state jail in Houston, Texas, Dr. Belshaw served as a member and chairman of the case classification committee. In this role he evaluated the risk levels of the inmates and placed them in the appropriate security-housing wing. Dr. Belshaw also served in charge of the Topp Street State jail’s Grievance and Internal Affairs Office investigating inmate grievances and staff violations of facility’s policies and procedures. He also served as a counselor and probation officer at the county boot camp program. Dr. Belshaw was also the creator of the county’s “Prison For a Day” program. This program was similar to the “Scared Straight” program in New Jersey. Dr. Belshaw has served as a probation and sentencing advisor to the judges of Harris County, Texas. Dr. Belshaw has an extensive background in interviewing and interrogations in the public and private sectors.

Dr. Belshaw owned and operated a Forensic Investigation and Mitigation firm licensed by the Texas Department of Public Safety. Dr. Belshaw's company serviced numerous criminal law firms, governmental agencies and members of the general public on private investigative related matters. Dr. Belshaw has been appointed by the various district and appellate courts to assist in numerous capital murder cases (trial and appellate cases). Dr. Belshaw is an expert in the field of criminal mitigation and sentencing and has been called upon numerous times to testify in that capacity. Dr. Belshaw has testified on probation and legal related issues in sentencing. Dr. Belshaw has also worked on cases in the juvenile justice field including transfers and certification hearings.

Dr. Belshaw has conducted field research with numerous probation departments in Texas. He has conducted research examining probationer characteristics, absconder populations and probationers that are placed on minimum level of supervision in Texas. Dr. Belshaw has also received grant funding for examining probation populations in Texas. Dr. Belshaw was awarded a grant to conduct research examining Collin County, Texas CSCD’s inpatient substance abuse treatment program. He also serves as a research and policy advisor to various probation departments in the North Texas area.

He also serves as the Executive Director and Chair of the Advisory board of the University of North Texas/Professional Development Institute's Private Investigation Training Academy. It currently serves two locations: Houston and Dallas. Dr. Belshaw also serves as an advisor on private investigation industry issues to the Texas DPS-Private Security Board and the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators (The largest private investigator association in Texas). Dr. Belshaw is currently an Editor of the Texas Investigator, a bimonthly journal of the Texas Association of Licensed Investigators. Dr. Belshaw is currently under contract with Lynne Renner publishing for a textbook in private investigations.

Dr. Belshaw has published research in numerous academic journals such as Criminal Justice Review, Criminal Justice Policy Review, Journal of Criminal Justice Education, American Journal of Criminal Justice, International Journal of Punishment and Sentencing, Southwestern Journal of Criminal Justice and numerous other educational and criminal justice related journals.

Dr. Belshaw served on various agency boards and advocacy group boards of directors. This includes Texas Criminal Justice Coalition and the Denton County Mental Health and Mental Retardation PNC board. Dr. Belshaw also served on an advisory boards for mentoring agencies in the Houston and surrounding areas. Dr. Belshaw is also a veteran of the U.S. Navy and Naval Reserve and served during Operation Desert Storm.