Distinguished University Professor Gary LaFree spoke on the implications of institutional legitimacy, globalization, and violence at the 2024 Stockholm Criminology Symposium.

At the symposium, LaFree received the 2024 Stockholm Prize in Criminology, from the Swedish Ministry of Justice. This is the highest honor in the field of criminology.

“Institutions are this great human adaptation that puts us ahead of all of the other animals in some ways, and institutionalization starts as soon as two or more people agree on some kind of behavior and then reinforce it," LaFree said in the opening discussion. "…institutions [such as the family or the criminal justice system] are fantastic for directing human behavior…what [Max Weber] says is what holds that together is legitimacy."

LaFree went on to emphasize the necessity of legitimacy to keep the criminal justice system effective in both guiding behavor as well as responding to critical issues.

"Legitimacy is trust in the system…most of the time [the criminal justice system] runs along pretty smoothly. People know what to do, they follow the law, and so on. But if something interrupts that legitimacy, it has very important effects…institutions are very important in telling us what’s right, what’s wrong, what’s legal, what’s not legal, and even more important in some ways…it’s not just the individual decision to commit crime, it’s all the people you’re surrounded with that hold you into place, both informal institutions like the family and formal institutions like the police and the criminal justice system…the system really does depend [on] the legitimacy of the system...not just in terms of committing crimes, but in terms of responding to those crimes.”

Watch Dr. LaFree's opening discussion and full prizewinner lecture here on the Stockholm Criminology Symposium's website.