HM The Queen's speech at the award for Stockholm Prize in Criminology
(The spoken version shall take precedence)
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to start by welcoming the prize recipients who we are honouring today:
Professor Franklin Zimring, from the University of California, Berkeley, in the United States of America,
and Professor Philip Cook from Duke University, North Carolina, also in the United States of America.
Winning this prize, as you have done, is not easy but it is very well deserved. Your research has made a significant impact and many people are impressed and grateful to you as a result.
So please, Professors, accept my warmest congratulations.
Gun violence is a problem in many places around the world. There is a great need to understand not only what is happening but also the reasons behind it; only then can we solve the problems.
HM The Queen
In the times in which we are living, our opportunities to meet have changed somewhat. I would naturally have preferred to be awarding this prize to you face to face in Stockholm City Hall and to have had the opportunity to meet you both in person. I regret that this is not possible. But I hope and believe that as winners of this prize you feel that you have received the recognition and the honour that is intended.
I know that over the past two days you have also been attending the Stockholm Criminology Symposium, whose main theme, “Gun violence: sound knowledge and countermeasures” is based on the research for which you are receiving this award.
I am delighted that despite the difficulties in meeting in person, it has been possible for so many knowledgeable people to come together and work further on these important issues.
Gun violence is a problem in many places around the world. There is a great need to understand not only what is happening but also the reasons behind it; only then can we solve the problems.
The research that you and all of your colleagues are conducting is crucial – providing decision-makers with knowledge and data on which to base their decisions.
So, Professor Zimring and Professor Cook, I am delighted to award you the Stockholm Prize in Criminology. These diplomas I have here are for you, and show that you are the recipients of this prize.
Professor Franklin Zimring, I give you your diploma.
And Professor Philip Cook, I give you your diploma.
