The Criminology and Criminal Justice department houses the Criminal Justice Policy Research Institute (CJPRI), which strives to promote informed decision-making on the complex issues related to crime prevention, crime control, and the criminal justice process. Its goal is to provide policymakers and the public with research and empirical guidance that is objective, practical, rigorous, and evidence- and theory-based to advance efficient, effective, and equitable policy and practice in the field of criminal justice. Faculty from the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at Portland State University comprise the core research expertise of CJPRI. CJPRI researchers employ a wide variety of methodological and statistical approaches that deliver advanced analyses of important program and policy questions.
The research and consulting activities of our faculty also benefit CCJ students. Graduate students in our Masters of Science degree program, as well as some advanced undergraduate students, participate in designing studies, collecting and analyzing data, and presenting the results. Faculty members also share their research findings in classes—helping students to see the important connection between academic scholarship and applied practice in the criminal justice field.