Chenelle Jones currently serves as Assistant Dean of Community Engagement and Program Chair for Public Safety Programs at Franklin University. Dr. Jones received her Ph.D. in the Administration of Justice from Texas Southern University in Houston. Her research interests include race and crime, policing, and juvenile delinquency. She is particularly interested in issues of police/community relations, disproportionate minority contact (DMC), mass incarceration, and the intersection of race and gender in the criminal justice system.
Dr. Jones currently serves as the national director of research for the Teen and Police Service (TAPS) Academy, a federally funded program designed to reduce social distance between police officers and at-risk minority youth. She has written numerous articles and book chapters on public perceptions of the police, race and the administration of justice. She is the co-editor of A Critical Analysis of Race and the Administration of Justice. She is a reviewer for the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs, and several academic journals including the Journal of Juvenile Justice, the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, and Race and Justice. She is a crime analyst for TV One’s hit show “For My Man.” She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Conley Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Visionary Award by Columbus City Council and the Create Columbus Commission. Dr. Jones is also a member of several community and professional organizations including Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the Create Columbus Commission, the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, the American Society of Criminology, the National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice, and the Racial Democracy and Criminal Justice Network.