Sweden to Lower Age of Criminal Responsibility from 15 to 14 Amid 'War on Crime'

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The Swedish parliament has voted to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14, Euronews reported on the 13th local time.

The Swedish government had previously pursued a plan to lower the lower limit of the age of criminal responsibility to 13, but withdrew it in June after passage through parliament became uncertain.

Sweden has been discussing lowering the age of criminal responsibility as juvenile crimes have surged, with gangs fighting for control of the drug market forcing teenagers to commit murder.

However, there were considerable concerns that changing the law would only lead to even younger adolescents being deployed into crimes.

Most of the 126 organizations consulted by the government, including police and correctional authorities, opposed lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 13.

While most European countries hold individuals criminally responsible starting at age 14 or 15, countries like the UK at 10 and France at 13 have even lower ages of criminal responsibility.

As Sweden's drug market has grown over recent decades, gang crimes, shootings, and juvenile crimes mobilized in them have surged.

Facing a shortage of prison cells, the country is currently paying about 30 million euros (approx. 49 billion KRW) annually to house prisoners in prisons across the Baltic Sea in Estonia.

The Swedish parliament has also significantly reduced sentence reductions for juvenile offenders.

As a result, offenders under the age of 18 can now face prison sentences of up to 18 years.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson's center-right cabinet has made the war on crime a national policy task, including pushing to put electronic tracking tags on children and adolescents at risk of being recruited by criminal organizations, but it is facing the risk of losing power in next month's general election.

In a survey released today by the polling agency Demoskop, the combined approval rating of the Prime Minister's Moderate Party and the far-right Sweden Democrats supporting it stood at 46.9%, trailing the four center-left and other opposition parties at 50.6%.

The new age of criminal responsibility will take effect on the 10th of next month, three days ahead of the general election.

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