Research topic:

Tackling Serious and Organised Crime in France: Insights into a Compartmentalised Criminal Justice System 

Emma Louise Blondes is PhD Candidate in Criminal Justice Policy, funded by an LSE Studentship. Her research focuses on France’s criminal justice response to serious and organised crime. Specifically, she is interested in understanding how French law enforcement and judicial authorities interpret this complex phenomenon in different operational contexts. She conducted multi-sited qualitative research across French policing and judicial institutions and in court, drawing on document review, in-depth interviews, and observations.

Prior to joining the PhD programme, Emma Louise worked as a research analyst in RAND Europe’s Home Affairs and Social Policy team in Brussels. In this role, she managed and contributed to large-scale research and evaluation projects commissioned by EU institutions and governments. Her research primarily focused on illicit markets, organised crime, and police cooperation in the EU, though she also worked on projects related to hate crimes and gender-based violence. At RAND, Emma Louise contributed to formulating policy recommendations and frequently presented research findings to a policy audience at expert workshops and conferences.

Emma Louise holds a first-class MSc in Criminal Justice Policy from the LSE and a BA in European Studies (with a focus on War Studies) from King’s College London. She speaks French and English fluently and has basic proficiency in Mandarin and Spanish. 

Research interests:

Policing, Sociology, Organised crime, Illicit markets, EU home affairs

Supervisors: Professor Tim Newburn, Dr Johann Koehler and Dr Janet Foster

Publications

• Blondes, E.L. (2024). Les données macroéconomiques des revenus générés par les marchés illicites, in Brunet, D. (Ed.). Droit et pratique de la lutte contre la criminalité organisée. Lextenso. Link

• Mapping the risk of serious and organised crime infiltrating legitimate businesses. [Link]

• Study strengthening the fight against organised crime: Assessing the legislative framework. [Link]

• Study to support the evaluation of the Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims and an impact assessment for a legislative proposal on the topic. [Link]

• Study to support an evaluation of the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL). [Link]