US EditionSweden Aims to Lower Age of Criminal Responsibility to 13 as Gangs Recruit Children
The proposal aims to curb gang recruitment of children under 15 amid a doubling of registered offences by this age group in the last decade, officials said.
- On Monday, Sweden's government submitted a bill to lower the criminal responsibility age from 15 to 13, effective July 2026 until July 2031, allowing up to two years in a new "youth prison".
- Authorities cite a surge in organised violent crime in Sweden tied to rival gangs and the drug market, with 52 young people under the age of 15 involved in murder cases in 2025.
- A consultation sought input from 126 authorities and organisations, with police, prison officials and prosecutors largely critical or opposed, warning of risks to children and prisons.
- As well as lowering the age, the proposal alters youth sentencing rules by abolishing the so-called `ungdomsreduktion` for over-18s, reducing cuts for 13–18-year-olds, and raising the maximum sentence for under-18s to 18 years.
- Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer said the measures reflect the seriousness and will take effect on July 3rd, expiring unless parliament votes to extend in 2031.
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The Ministry of Justice, Gunnar Strömmer, intends to limit this reform to serious offences, paving the way for prison sentences in some cases.
The Swedish Minister of Justice warned about the need to take action in the face of an "emergency situation" at a press conference on Monday. In ten years, the number of suspicions of criminal offences involving young people under the age of 15 has doubled.
The authorities in a European country are talking about an 'emergency situation' and are preparing difficult changes in legislation on the basis of the increase in juvenile crime. One of the measures aims at reducing the age of criminal liability by 13 years.
Sweden is making progress with plans to reduce the age of criminal response from 15 to 13 years in serious cases, on the basis of the increase in the number of children recruited by criminal gangs to commit violent crimes without having to face serious legal implications, reports BBC.
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