A majority of authorities and organisations consulted on the Swedish government’s plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13 opposed the plans, as the deadline for input expired last November.
The Scandinavian country has struggled to contain a surge in violent crime for more than a decade, linked primarily to turf wars to control the drug market, with many offenders being younger than 15 – Sweden’s age of criminal responsibility.
Those with reservations about the plans included the police, the Swedish Prosecution Authority and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service.
A government-ordered inquiry in January proposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14.
But last September the government announced plans to lower the age to 13 in order to curb the youth crime and sent out the bill for input from 126 authorities and organisations.
A review of their replies by the TT news agency found that out of 74 that responded, 61 either opposed the proposal, had reservations or “sharp criticism” – with some others declining to comment.
Young teens are often recruited on encrypted apps to carry out crimes in exchange for money.
The older criminals who groom them know the youths will not face long prison sentences due to their age.
The police said lowering the age meant there was a risk that “significantly younger children than today become involved in criminal networks.”
The Swedish Prison and Probation Service said it was not “currently fully prepared or equipped to care for children as young as 14, let alone 13.”
It said children committing crimes at that age were often in vulnerable situations and less able to consider the consequences of their actions and should be taken care of in other ways.
The prosecution authority meanwhile said the proposal risked “causing considerable problems when applied and has unreasonable consequences.”
It also criticised the proposal for not being properly prepared.
The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention said in its comment that lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13 also meant that Sweden was “further departing from the United Nation’s recommendations to member states not to lower the age of criminal responsibility.” – AFP
