Sweden mulls prison for young teens as violent crime rises
In the fight against escalating gang crime, Sweden's parliament will vote on plans to hold 13-year-olds criminally responsible and, in serious cases, imprison them. Other
In the fight against escalating gang crime, Sweden's parliament will vote on plans to hold 13-year-olds criminally responsible and, in serious cases, imprison them. Other European nations are also lowering age limits. Children aged 13 and 14 should still be in school. But in Sweden, young teenagers are being recruited by criminal networks to carry out attacks and contract killings — even shooting people in broad daylight. Under Swedish law, those under the age of 15 are not criminally liable, a fact that is being exploited by organized crime and gang members who often operate out of sight. Under current laws, children cannot be convicted as criminals, but instead fall under the jurisdiction of social services and youth welfare. But in its battle against rising gang violence and organized crime, Sweden wants to toughen its legal tool set. Parliament has already approved a measure allowing 15- to 17-year-olds convicted of serious crimes to serve prison sentences in specially adapted juvenile units. In addition, the government plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 on a trial basis for particularly serious offenses. This would apply to crimes such as murder, manslaughter, serious bombings or other offenses carrying very high minimum sentences. Parliament will vote on this reform in mid-June, and the result will be reviewed again after five years. Swedish gangs recruiting teenage hit men To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Denmark: A failed model? The debate over the age of criminal responsibility isn't limited to Sweden. In 2010, Denmark lowered the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 under a conservative government.
Two years later, the reform was reversed. Research showed that the lower age threshold failed to have any deterrent effect. On the contrary, affected youths were more likely to re-offend and performed worse in school. As a result, Denmark is now seen by many experts as a cautionary example. Criminalizing children at a younger age does not automatically solve the problem of youth violence. In the worst-case scenario, contact with the criminal justice system can even draw young people deeper into criminal environments. Netherlands: Prosecution from age 12, but no adult jails Compared with other EU countries, the Netherlands and Ireland have some of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility. In the Netherlands, children can be prosecuted from the age of 12. In Ireland, the general age of criminal responsibility is also 12. However, for the most serious offenses — including murder, manslaughter, rape and aggravated sexual offenses — children as young as 10 or 11 can be held criminally responsible. A low age threshold does not automatically mean harsh prison sentences similar to those in the adult justice system. In the Netherlands, the maximum juvenile detention sentence for 12- to 15-year-olds is one year. For 16- and 17-year-olds convicted of serious crimes, the maximum juvenile sentence is generally two years, with only limited exceptions. Education, supervision and rehabilitative measures also remain the primary focus, even during detention. Sweden steps up the fight against organized crime To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video In Germany and Spain, a child who commits a serious crime at the age of 12 is not legally responsible.
The BriefWire