Jennifer E. Cobbina is an associate professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Her primary research focuses on the issue of corrections, prisoner reentry and the understanding of recidivism and desistance among recently released female offenders. Her second primary research area is centered on examining how race, gender, and neighborhood context impact victimization risks among minority youth.
She is currently a co-principal investigator on a team of researchers that was awarded research grants from the National Science Foundation and the Michigan State University Foundation to examine how probation and parole officer interaction with female drug offenders affects recidivism, rule violations, and changes in crime-related needs. She is also the co-principal investigator that was awarded a research grant from the National Institute of Justice that focuses on the role of school safety in the successful transition to high school in Flint, MI and best practices for developing a positive and safe school climate.
Dr. Cobbina’s work appears in a number of top criminology journals, such as Criminology, Justice Quarterly, Crime and Delinquency, Criminal Justice & Behavior, British Journal of Criminology, and Journal of Drug Issues.
She currently serves as the co-chair for the ASC Division on People of Color and Crime. She is on the editorial board of the scholarly journals Justice Quarterly, Journal of Crime & Justice, and Sociology Compass: Crime and Deviance Section.