Emily Berthelot, Ph.D.

Summary

Emily Berthelot’s research has evolved from an early focus on the epidemiology of victimization risk and offending patterns to a broader examination of how individuals and institutions perceive, experience and respond to crime, law and authority. Grounded in a commitment to social and economic equality, her work integrates theoretical frameworks across criminology, sociology, social psychology and public policy. Her recent scholarship examines fear of crime and fear of institutional authority, public perceptions of legitimacy and fairness within the justice system, organizational trust among justice system professionals and the measurement of complex social attitudes related to crime and punishment. Across these areas, she investigates how structural inequality, institutional practices and social context shape perceptions, behavior and outcomes within communities and justice system organizations.

Research interests

• Violent offending and victimization
• Homicide studies
• Fear of crime
• Public perceptions of punishment
• Public perceptions of institutional authority
• Subcultures of violence
• Race/ethnicity and crime
• Inequality and crime
• Macro criminology
• Public health and mortality

Publications

* denotes graduate student co-author:

• Fine, A., Berthelot, E. R., & Marsh, S. (2025). Public perceptions of judges’ use of AI tools in courtroom decision-making: An examination of legitimacy, fairness, trust, and procedural justice. Behavioral Sciences, 15(4), 476.
• Etopio, A. L., & Berthelot, E. R. (2024). Question wording matters in measuring frequency of fear of crime. Survey Research Methods.
• Hogan, N., Lambert, E., Lanterman, J., & Berthelot, E. R. (2024). Testing the job demands–resources model to explain organizational trust among correctional staff. Psychiatry, Psychology, and Law.
• Etopio, A. L., & Berthelot, E. R. (2022). Defining and measuring fear of crime: A new validated scale created from emotion theory, qualitative interviews, and factor analyses. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society, 23(1), 46–67.
• Lambert, E., Berthelot, E. R., Morrow, W., Block, L., & Hogan, N. (2021). Exploring the effects of organizational structure variables on the organizational justice perceptions of correctional staff. The Prison Journal, 101(5), 553–574.
• Lambert, E., Hogan, N., Block, L., Berthelot, E. R., & Morrow, W. (2020). Examining the relationship between supervisor trust and administration trust with job involvement among private prison staff. Criminology, Criminal Justice, Law & Society.
• Morrow, W. J., Berthelot, E. R., & Vickovic, S. G. (2018). Police use of force: An examination of the minority threat perspective. Criminal Justice Studies, 31(4), 368–387.
• Berthelot, E. R., McNeal, B. A., & Baldwin, J. M. (2018). Relationships between agency-specific contact, victimization type, and trust and confidence in the police and courts. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 43(4), 768–791. 
• Thomas, S. A., Burgason, K., Brown, T. C., & Berthelot, E. R. (2017). Is it all about race? Intergroup threat and perceptions of racial profiling. Criminal Justice Studies, 30(4), 401–420.
• Sobba, K., Branham, B. F., & Berthelot, E. R. (2017). The maternal incarceration penalty: An examination of the effect of maternal convictions and incarceration on childhood delinquent outcomes. Journal of Criminal Psychology, 7(1), 29–46.
• Drawve, G., Moak, S., & Berthelot, E. R. (2016). Predictability of gun crimes: Hot spots versus risk terrain modeling. Policing and Society, 26(3), 312–331.
• Berthelot, E. R., Brown, T. C., Thomas, S. A., & Burgason, K. A. (2016). Racial (in)variance, disadvantage, and lethal violence: A contextual, event-history analysis of Black homicide victimization risk in the U.S. Homicide Studies, 20(2), 103–128.
• Berthelot, E. R., Brown, T. C., Drawve, G., & Burgason, K. A. (2015). The Southern pub-crawl and brawl: An examination of the alcohol–violence nexus in a Southern city. Deviant Behavior, 36(8), 605–624.
• Burgason, K., Thomas, S. A., Berthelot, E. R., & Burkey, C. (2014). Gats and gashes: Street culture and distinctions in the nature of violence between youth and adult offenders. Deviant Behavior, 35(7), 534–554.
• Brown, T. C., Forsyth, C. J., & Berthelot, E. R. (2014). The mediating effect of civic community on social growth: The importance of reciprocity. The Social Science Journal, 51(2), 219–230.
• Burgason, K., Thomas, S., & Berthelot, E. R. (2014). The nature of violence: A multilevel analysis of gun use and victim injury in violent interpersonal encounters. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(3), 371–393.
• Berthelot, E. R. (n.d.). Southern cities post-Katrina: The effect of social disorganization in New Orleans and Houston neighborhoods. In T. Saito (Ed.), Major disaster and crime.
• Berthelot, E. R., Blanchard, T. C., & Brown, T. C. (2011). Commuting and theft: The effect of journey-to-work patterns on crime rates. Kentucky Journal of Anthropology and Sociology, 1(2), 39–54.
• Brown, T. C., Bankston, W. B., Forsyth, C. J., & Berthelot, E. R. (2011). Qualifying the boom–bust paradigm: An examination of the off-shore oil and gas industry. Sociology Mind, 1(3), 96–104.
• Lee, M. R., & Berthelot, E. R. (2010). Ecological covariates of malnutrition-based mortality among the elderly. Annals of Epidemiology, 20(5), 371–379.
• Mire, S., Hanser, R. D., & Can, S. H. (Eds.). (2010). Criminal justice in action: Essential readings for the practitioner. Serials Publications. (Reprinted from Berthelot, E. R. (2007). The Scots-Irish and the Southern culture of violence: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice, and Law, 2(2), 249–262.)
• Blanchard, T. C., & Berthelot, E. R. (2008). The supply side of crime: Assessing the impact of current work patterns and offender activities on burglary rates. International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice, and Law, 3(2), 71–79.
• Berthelot, E. R., Blanchard, T. C., & Brown, T. C. (2008). Scots-Irish women and the Southern culture of violence: The influence of Scots-Irish females on high rates of Southern violence. Southern Rural Sociology, 23(2), 157–170.
• Berthelot, E. R. (2007). The Scots-Irish and the Southern culture of violence: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Crime, Criminal Justice, and Law, 2(2), 249–262.

Media

• May 12, 2010: Press release from Louisiana State University Media Relations
• May 13, 2010: Featured on MedicalNewsToday.com
• May 31, 2010: Featured on ScienceDaily.com
• June 1, 2010: Featured on EmpowHER.com
• June 2, 2010: Featured on Paging Dr. Gupta, CNN.com
• September 2, 2010: Featured on MDLinx.com

Curriculum Vitae

Ph.D. students

• Audrey Cerfoglio

Education

• Ph.D., Sociology, Louisiana State University, 2010
• M.A., Sociology, Louisiana State University, 2007
• B.A., Sociology (Concentration in Criminology), Louisiana State University, 2004