His research has covered many topics, including issues of homicide causation, violence data sources, issues of correctional health care policy, conditions of confinement in juvenile justice residential facilities, and ethical issues in nursing. His current research trajectory explores issues relating to volunteer police. His research has been published in the Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, Journal of Quantitative Criminology, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Criminal Justice and Behavior, Journal of Criminal Justice, American Journal of Public Health, and Pediatrics. Dr. Dobrin teaches courses in juvenile justice, policing, violence, criminal justice technology, criminology, research methods, and the criminal justice system.