Sweden is moving forward with plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 in serious cases as it grapples with a growing number of children recruited into gangs to carry out violent crimes without facing serious legal repercussions.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the country was in an “emergency situation” and stopping the use of children in criminal networks was a “crucial task” for the government.
But several authorities, including police, prison officials and prosecutors, have opposed the plan, with some worried that it may lead to even younger children becoming offenders.
If passed, the legislation will go into force as early as this summer.
Strommer insisted that the proposal did not amount to a “general lowering of the age of criminal responsibility” and would only apply to the “most serious crimes” such as murder, attempted murder, aggravated bombings, aggravated weapons offences and aggravated rape.
Under the proposal, some of these offenders could face prison sentences in certain cases.
Data from the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention shows that the number of registered offences linked to suspects under the age of 15 has doubled over the past decade.
The current government came into power in 2022 vowing to crack down on organised crime.
At the beginning of last year, a government-ordered inquiry recommended lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14 in serious cases.
Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed in September that it would be lowered from 15, saying children are “being ruthlessly exploited by criminal networks to commit serious crimes”.
“Both to protect these children and their potential victims, the government is taking strong action against this type of cynical exploitation,” he added.
The government then announced that it would seek to lower it to 13, and sent out the bill for input from 126 authorities and organisations.
Their plans were met with criticism and opposition from different authorities and organisations.
In November, the police authority said that the change risked “significantly younger children” getting involved in criminal gangs as a result.
Other groups said the prison system was not equipped to handle such young offenders and detaining them could breach children’s rights.
The prison and probation service also said the move could lead to negative consequences for children and that they should be cared for in “other ways”.
Ministers had also previously considered imposing age limits on social media, with police arguing that gangs had used certain platforms to recruit young children into crime.
Strommer said on Monday that he had taken note of the previous criticism of the bill, but that the situation had become more urgent.
However opposition has not abated. Fredrik Hjulström, a local authority head who is reviewing the proposal, said it contained “no factual arguments”, according to Swedish national broadcaster SVT.
He added that children should receive care rather than being punished and argued that the bill was about scoring political points, with the country’s general election coming up in September this year.
Meanwhile lawyer Johan Eriksson agreed that action must be taken to prevent children from being recruited by gangs, but said lowering the age of criminal responsibility would likely have the opposite effect.
The bill will be sent to Sweden’s Council on Legislation, which reviews bills the government intends to put before parliament.
