Prize in Criminology for research on why and how criminals stop offending
John Laub of the National Institute of Justice, USA, and Robert Sampson of Harvard University, USA, were awarded the 2011 Stockholm Prize in Criminology in a ceremony at Stockholm City Hall on the evening of June 14. The Queen of Sweden presented the prize to the winners for their research showing why and how criminals stop offending.
Criminals stop offending when they cut off social ties in offending peer groups
The authors of the longest life-course study of criminal behaviour ever conducted, Laub and Sampson, discovered that even very active criminals can stop committing crimes for good after key “turning points” in their lives. In their sample of 500 male offenders born in the 1920s, these turning points included marriage, military service, employment, and other ways of cutting off their social ties to their offending peer group.
Research to influence the policy debate about criminal justice and sentencing policy
These findings have had broad influence in criminology
world-wide. They have also influenced the policy debate about
criminal justice and sentencing policy, especially concerning the
potential for rehabilitation. Their work has influenced other
scholars to search for means by which offenders can be assisted to
break their links to other offenders, such as by moving to new
communities.