Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers
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 is 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 (US$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 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.