Areas of Expertise

• Corrections
• Prisoner reentry
• Female offenders
• Victimization
• Recidivism
• Risks among minority youth

Key Findings

• Black female offenders more often reported their neighborhoods as unsafe and were more likely to develop socially-isolating crime-avoidance strategies in response to this perceived lack of community security. MORE
• Women offenders residing in communities where they are socially isolated, economically disadvantaged, and lacking in resources face difficulties in staying clean, sober, and crime-free. MORE
• Gang-related disputes constituted the largest share of conflicts between African American young men, which were likely to be more violent if they occurred in a group setting and without the presence of an, intervening adult. MORE
• Three dominant triggers were found to be the largest source of conflicts between African American young women: boys and boyfriends, rumors and gossip, and disrespect. MORE
• Black youth diverge from the older members of their communities in that they have identified a system and framework that is broken, and they do not try to fit into this system, but rather try to change the status quo. MORE

Biography

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Jennifer Cobbina-Dungy, Professor of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University, is an expert in protesters’ response to police violence, race and policing, race, gender, and crime, corrections, prisoner reentry, and women offenders.

Cobbina-Dungy has consulted with the National Institute of Justice, National Science Foundation and the Michigan State University Foundation. She has received several awards from Michigan State University. She is a member of the American Society of Criminology, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the Racial Democracy, Crime and Justice Network.

She has published in numerous scholarly journals, such as Criminology & Public Policy, Crime and Delinquency, Journal of Crime & Justice, Punishment & Society, and Sociological Forum.

Cobbina received her Ph.D. and M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Missouri – St. Louis and B.A. in Criminal Justice and Sociology from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Follow Jennifer on Twitter: @j_cob24