PSU Professor Mark Leymon Appointed to Oregon Criminal Justice Commission

Oregon Governor Tina Kotek has appointed Portland State University associate professor Mark Leymon to a four-year term on the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), with his service beginning this November. Leymon, a quantitative research methodologist and justice policy researcher, is the current department chair of PSU’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice and brings extensive experience studying the formation and impacts of criminal justice policy. His recent research focuses on alternatives to corrections, such as diversion programs and specialty courts.

Leymon has built a career advancing public-facing research and strengthening partnerships between academic experts, community organizations, and government agencies. His work has included collaborations with the Oregon Justice Resource Center, the Urban League of Portland, the Partnership for Safety and Justice, the ACLU of Oregon, state legislators, the Oregon Judicial Department, and the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office, among others. “I want to thank Governor Kotek for the nomination and the Oregon State Senate for the confirmation to the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission,” said Leymon. “It’s an honor to be a part of this important work, and I’m looking forward to working with my fellow commissioners and the CJC staff to enhance the effectiveness of Oregon’s criminal justice system through research-informed policy planning.”

The nine-member CJC serves as Oregon’s centralized and impartial forum for statewide criminal justice policy development. Established by the Legislature in 1995, the commission is charged with improving the legitimacy, efficiency, and effectiveness of state and local criminal justice systems. The CJC’s statutory responsibilities include developing Oregon’s long-range public safety plan, administering the state’s felony sentencing guidelines, analyzing prison and jail capacity, providing technical assistance to Local Public Safety Coordinating Councils, managing and evaluating drug court programs, and preparing fiscal and racial and ethnic impact statements for pending legislation. The CJC Research Department operates as Oregon’s Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), one of 51 SACs nationwide that collect and analyze criminal justice data for federal, state, and local agencies.