Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Prestigious award given to Leeds Beckett Honorary Graduate
(l-r) Bryan Stevenson and Frances Crook holding framed certificates after receiving the 2025 Stockholm Prize in Criminology from Queen Silvia of Sweden
Frances Crook OBE, who was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws in 2018, was recognised for her public campaigning as the Chief Executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, a leading penal reform charity.
She led the Howard League for Penal Reform from 1986 to 2021 and made outstanding use of criminological research to reduce the imprisonment of young offenders in favour of more humane rehabilitation programmes. Her research work and campaigning led to a reduction of 85% in the number of children under 18 in prison and the annual number of arrests of children dropped by 80%.
At a ceremony in Stockholm last night, Frances was presented with her award by HM Queen Silvia.
Anne Ramberg, chair of The Stockholm Prize in Criminology Foundation, said: “This year, like every year over the past twenty years, the laureates have demonstrated the benefit of criminology to humankind. It is therefore logical that their focus – the efficiency of prison sentences – is also of relevance in the public debate. This demonstrates the important knowledge base that is gathered when we once again welcome the world’s leading criminologists to Stockholm.”
The prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in criminological research or for the application of research results by practitioners for the reduction of crime and the advancement of human rights.
Find out more about the Stockholm Prize here.
