Sophie Bettex

Sophie Maeva Bettex (born on the 20th of June 2000 in Morges, Switzerland) is a doctoral student at the Professorship for Technology and Governance at the Department of Humanities, Social and Political Science (DGESS, ETH) since August 2023. She is also an investigator at the CURATE Project (ERC/SERI Starting Grant), a European research project which investigates data quality in law enforcement and border control agencies.

Sophie’s doctoral research focuses on the creation and continuous transformation of algorithmic and AI-driven policing tools within European law enforcement agencies. Her work utilizes multi-sited ethnography, following the journey of data from their production through various physical and digital spaces or sites to their eventual use in shaping policing practices and decision-making. She specifically examines the data (quality) perspectives and practices of police agents (intelligence, criminal investigation, scientific police, patrols, among others) and technical actors in public and private firms involved in the making and remaking of digital tools and artefacts, such as algorithmic and AI tools. Her interdisciplinary approach draws on critical criminology, sociology, critical data studies, science and technology studies (STS), and surveillance studies.

She completed an International BSc in Psychology at Leiden University in 2021 and a dual-MSc in Criminology from Ghent University (cum laude) and Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2023, where she completed the International Master's in Advanced Research in Criminology. As part of her master's thesis, Sophie conducted an ethnographic research for three months which investigated human trafficking and smuggling in Aruba, a region where the last trafficking prosecution had occurred over a decade ago.

Sophie has experience in conducting research and collaborating with public, private, and IG/NG organizations, such as international, national and local law enforcement and border control agencies, ministries, tech firms, shelters and human rights organizations as well as student associations. Sophie’s work extends beyond research; she has also supported and worked with vulnerable individuals, including asylum seekers, the homeless, and survivors. 

Publications 

Bettex, S. (2024). Counting Crime? A review on the production of crime data. CURATE Working Paper No. 3. ETH Library. https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000659127

Bettex, S. (2023). Hidden realities on the ‘one happy island’: Perspectives on human trafficking, human smuggling, and irregular migration in Aruba. [Master’s thesis/Ethnographic work; Ghent University, Erasmus University Rotterdam (IMARC)]

Bettex, S. (2022). The toxic and troubling truth of e-waste: How can we effectively dispose of our electronic and electric waste? Deviance Incubator. https://devianceincubator.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/the-toxic-and-troubling-truth-of-e-waste-how-can-we-effectively-dispose-of-our-electronic-and-electrical-waste/

Bettex, S. (2021). The Effect of Inducing Shame Resilience on Avoidant Tendencies and Willingness to Contact in Individuals With Financial Hardships. [Bachelor’s thesis, Leiden University]