ROSERSBERG PRISON, Sweden, June 2 (Reuters) - A surge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors, has set Sweden apart from its European peers and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.
The government, in power since 2022 and heading into a tight election in September where crime is a key issue, says the softly-softly approach of the past has failed and it's time to get tough by sending children aged under 15 to prison rather than into social care.
However, some experts and lawmakers warn this is the wrong approach.
Sweden is fighting a wave of gang crime, with networks active in drug dealing, large-scale fraud and robbery that earn them around 185 billion Swedish crowns ($20 billion) a year.
Police estimate there are 17,500 active gang members and 50,000 associates. Gangs use social media to recruit teenagers, and in some cases children as young as 11, to commit murders and bombings across the Nordics.
UNDER-15S FACED MURDER OR ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES
Under a proposed new law, the age of criminal responsibility will be lowered to 13 from 15 — below that of most European countries — and minors convicted of the most serious crimes will be locked up in special prisons. One will take girls.
"We have an emergency," Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said in April.
"Last year, 52 children under the age of 15 were involved in legal trials suspected of murder or attempted murder. So we're not talking about theft, not even assault or robbery. We're talking about murder."
Parliament will vote on the legislation, which will be reviewed after five years, on June 15.
Lowering the age of responsibility is one new tactic to tackle gang violence, others include longer prison sentences and expanded police powers.
The right-wing government says its crackdown is yielding results. Forty-four people were shot dead in 2025, down from a peak of 62 in 2022. More gang members are behind bars.
But stopping gangs recruiting children will be much harder. The government says prison will act as a deterrent and intensive rehabilitation programmes will prevent re-offending.
PUBERTY IN PRISON
At Rosersberg prison, north of Stockholm, one of three jails being rebuilt for the most violent teenage offenders, life behind bars will focus on schooling.
In their free time, prisoners may watch television, play video games or train in a gym. Cells will be locked from 8 p.m. each evening.
Prison Governor Gabriel Wessman expects the first inmates after the summer. The biggest challenge compared to adult prisoners will be giving the teenagers, some of whom have never lived away from their parents, comfort and support, he said.
"They will grow up in here," he said, adding the prison needs to help them through puberty. Phones are not allowed, while chess lessons will help concentration. But they also need an emotional outlet, he said.
"It's not that uncommon in the outside world that boys at this age have soft toys," Wessman said. "Maybe we should see that we have one in every cell."
TEENAGE GANG MEMBERS FREQUENTLY REOFFEND
Until now, Sweden's worst juvenile offenders have been dealt with by social services. But that system is widely seen as a failure. Nine out of ten young gang members held in youth homes relapse, a report by the Swedish National Audit Office said. Eight out of ten end up in prison as adults.
Incarceration will protect the public, provide justice for victims and break ties to gangs, the majority government says. Parliament is due to vote on the law on June 15.
Critics worry about the impact on the children.
"A 13-year-old is a child — one who is not even legally old enough to purchase energy drinks," opposition Centre Party spokeswoman Wilma Roth said. "Children under 15 who commit serious crimes should be taken into care and provided treatment, rather than being imprisoned."
Sweden's law enforcement and prison authorities have also voiced concerns.
Britain and Northern Ireland — where the age of criminal responsibility is 10 — are debating raising the threshold.
Denmark experimented with lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14 in 2010 but researchers concluded there was no effect on crime levels.
Stockholm University Criminology Professor Felipe Estrada Dorner said locking up already marginalised kids risked hurting their life-chances, but that society needed to be protected.
"We cannot have murderers walking our streets," he said.
($1 = 9.2957 Swedish crowns)
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; editing by Niklas Pollard, Alexandra Hudson)
