The governing parties and the Sweden Democrats agreed in the Tidö Agreement to lower the age of criminal responsibility from today’s 15 years. Now the government will set up an inquiry to review the issue, which Today’s news previously reported on.
The reason is that gang crime creeps further down the ages.
– The 15-year limit that we have was added in a different time and a different reality, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) to SVT Nyheter.
He does not want to specify how much they want to lower by, but points out that Germany (14 years), France (13 years) and the Netherlands (12 years) are examples of countries with a lower age limit.
The expert is critical
However, Felipe Estrada, criminology professor at Stockholm University, is critical of the proposal.
– If it’s about trying to access these serious shootings, it’s a rather strange proposition, he says.
According to Felipe Estrada, there is a lack of scientific evidence that lowering the legal age curbs crime among young people.
– Even worse, we know that this is downright counterproductive to preventing crime at this age, he says.
In Denmark, in 2010, the age of criminal jurisdiction was lowered from 15 to 14 years – but changed back two years later.
– When the Danish researchers evaluated this, it turned out that juvenile delinquency did not decrease, but actually increased juvenile delinquency, says Felipe Estrada.
Risks gobbling up resources
In addition, the measure risks devouring important resources that are needed elsewhere. But Gunnar Strömmer is not worried that milder crimes, such as school fights, will start to occupy the police’s work.
– I think that anyone who thinks about it understands exactly what I’m after. We see gang crime that draws children and young people into serious crime. That is where we have our focus, he says.
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