Swedish official announces international criminology prize

Friday August 12, 2005

By KATHY MATHESON

Associated Press Writer

PHILADELPHIA (AP) The Swedish minister of justice on Thursday announced the creation of an international prize for crime research, a yearly award designed in part to promote more effective and humane public policies for dealing with criminals.

The Stockholm Prize in Criminology, worth 1 million Swedish kronor (about $133,000), will be awarded annually beginning in June, Minister Thomas Bodstrom said in an interview Wednesday.

Bodstrom made the announcement during the closing session of the 14th World Congress of Criminology being held this week at the University of Pennsylvania.

Bodstrom said justice would be better served if officials worldwide worked more closely with data provided by criminologists instead of creating policies based on emotional reactions to crime.

``We think that too often decisions are made ... about rules and law after a specific tragedy,'' Bodstrom said, citing the terrorist attacks in Madrid last year and the ones in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001.

The main goals of the prize are to foster knowledge on the causes of crime; improve crime prevention strategies and policies for helping victims; and find ways to reduce miscarriages of justice.

Lawrence Sherman, director of Penn's Jerry Lee Center for Criminology, said he and Stockholm University criminologist Jerzy Sarnecki first discussed the idea of the prize five years ago with the International Society of Criminology.

Sarnecki initiated discussions with the Swedish ministry, and then Sherman and Jerry Lee got involved in early 2003, Sherman said.

``The hypothesis of this prize is that the quality and quantity of criminology will improve substantially over time, as will its benefits for the human condition,'' said Sherman.

The prize is supported by a number of organizations, including the Jerry Lee Center for Criminology, Stockholm University and the Soderberg foundations of Sweden.

The first award will be bestowed by a jury chaired by Sherman and Sarnecki and composed of nine crime experts from across the globe.

Nominations are being accepted through Oct. 31.

In conjunction with the awarding of the prize, which will take place at Stockholm City Hall, a crime symposium on the winner's research will be held at Stockholm University.

On the Net:

http://www.criminologyprize.com