Associate Professor Christopher M. Campbell
Fulbright Scholarship Fellow
Portland State University
Dr. Campbell received his PhD in criminology and criminal justice from Washington State University in 2015, and began his work at Portland State University a few months later. His research emphasizes the compilation of basic (theoretical) and applied research to generate cumulative knowledge for the sake of making justice systems based in empirical evidence and fair in its application.
Throughout his research, Dr. Campbell places great importance on the use of mixed methods to investigate research questions. The majority of his work consists of evaluating policy and practice in every area of a justice system (policing, courts, and corrections). Dr. Campbell has also conducted international work looking at how crime intersects with politics, and the potential of policy transfer between nations. Most recently, his work has focused on how different nations have approached low-level drug offenders, which is the crux of his Fulbright work.
As nations recognize the harmfulness of incarceration, many localized jurisdictions aim to divert such offenders away from the system and custody. Consequently, it is a critical time to examine the public and officer perceptions as they relate to these diversion efforts, because without their support, the policies would fail. For the Fulbright position, Dr. Campbell will conduct a mixed-methods study using surveys and interviews to examine such perceptions in the US State of Oregon, and select counties in England. Across his research, Dr. Campbell works to strengthen our knowledge of criminal behaviour, and in turn, improve societal responses to it to improve all outcomes of justice.
During their Fulbright Scholar Fellowship, Dr Campbell is collaborating with Dr Mark Monaghan from the School of Social Sciences and Humanities.