Department of
Criminology and Criminal Justice

Dr. Katherine Barrus is a Lecturer in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Indiana University - Bloomington. She received her Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Indiana University in 2025, with a minor in Linguistics. Dr. Barrus’s research broadly examines the intersection of race, language, and policing, with a specific focus on how police officers understand and perceive African American English and the implications for interactions between law enforcement and Black communities.

In her role as a Lecturer, Dr. Barrus is deeply committed to undergraduate education and creating meaningful classroom experiences. She has developed and taught courses like Black Men and the Criminal Justice System, The Intersection of Language and Crime, as well as other courses that invite students to deepen their understanding of criminal justice issues and think critically about the criminal justice system.