Sweden’s center-right administration announced Thursday it will abandon its disputed proposal to reduce the criminal responsibility age to 13 years old, citing lack of parliamentary backing for the measure.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer explained that without adequate legislative support, the government will instead pursue new laws establishing 14 as the minimum age for criminal responsibility, down from the existing threshold of 15.
“We are going to propose that the age of criminal responsibility should be cut to 14 instead of 13-years-old,” Strommer told reporters.
The Nordic nation has experienced a dramatic increase in organized criminal activity over the past two decades, with shooting incidents now ranking among Europe’s highest rates.
While the administration has reformed the justice system by expanding police authority and implementing harsher penalties, efforts to prevent criminal organizations from recruiting increasingly younger participants for violent offenses have proven challenging.
According to Strommer, more than 50 children under 15 appeared in court last year facing charges related to murder or attempted murder.
Currently, minors who commit violent offenses are placed in youth facilities, but this approach is broadly considered ineffective.
The original proposal would have placed children as young as 13 in specialized detention facilities.
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child advocates for a minimum criminal responsibility age of 14, which represents the European Union average.
