The Swedish government announced this Monday (26) that it will forward to Parliament a proposal to reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 years for more serious crimes, which carry a minimum sentence of four years in prison.
According to information from the Sweden Herald newspaper, the crimes covered by this measure include murder, attempted murder, qualified rape and qualified public disturbance.
“We are facing an urgent situation and the measures we take must reflect this gravity,” said Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer at a press conference, who stated that last year 52 young people under the age of 15 were prosecuted for murder and conspiracy to murder. “It’s appalling,” said Strömmer.
Currently, children under 15 who commit a serious crime are handed over to the custody of social services which, depending on the case, may place them with a foster family, in a center for minors under guardianship or return them to their own family.
Under the changes proposed today, 13-year-olds would receive one-tenth the sentence of an adult convicted of the same crime and 14-year-olds would receive one-fifth the sentence of an adult.
For the crime of murder, this would represent one to two years of juvenile detention for a convicted 13-year-old and three to four years for a 14-year-old.
However, courts would continue to have the possibility of opting for alternative measures to imprisonment.
If approved, the reduction in the age of criminal responsibility should come into force on July 3 and will be valid for five years; At the end of this period, Parliament will have to vote again on the issue.
“The goal is that, in five years, we will have taken such significant steps in preventing crime that we find ourselves faced with a real choice: return to the 15-year limit or make the 13-year limit permanent,” said Strömmer.
The lowering of the age of criminal responsibility occurs in the context of wars between criminal groups in the Nordic country, which often turn to minors to “set scores”.
