Prosecutors criticize government's proposal to lower age of responsibility
Twenty-five experienced prosecutors warn against the government's plan to temporarily lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 for serious crimes. The proposal lacks sufficient investigation and could lead to legal uncertainty, according to a DN opinion piece. The background is rising violence among youth, like the recent shooting in Gävle.
In January 2025, the government announced plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 for certain serious crimes. In September, it proposed a temporary further reduction to 13 for offenses carrying at least four years' imprisonment, such as manslaughter, kidnapping, and serious weapons crimes, including attempts, preparation, and incitement.
The proposal has faced strong criticism from organizations like Bris, which calls it 'irresponsible', as well as UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Children's Ombudsman. In an opinion piece in DN on October 5, 2025, 25 state and senior prosecutors state that the underlying investigation is 'inadequate' and that the consequences of detaining, prosecuting, and punishing children have not been examined. 'We have never heard of anything like it', the article states.
The prosecutors highlight that the selection of punishable offenses is 'arbitrary and offensive': a serious weapons crime can be punished, but not a threat with a gun to the head or three rapes, while transporting a thermos bomb could lead to charges. They warn that they will have to make decisions at night about a 13-year-old's punishability based on oral briefings, and explain to disappointed victims why some crimes are not prosecuted. The proposal is seen as not legally secure and provides too little time to adapt before it takes effect on July 1, 2026.
Critics fear that younger children, like 12-year-olds, will be recruited for more serious crimes instead. Research lacks support for prisons turning around the trend among children, and it could be counterproductive. Behind the proposal lies desperation over rising youth crime; the number of suspects under 15 has doubled in ten years, according to the Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention. A recent incident is the shooting in Gävle on October 4, 2025, where a 13-year-old boy is suspected of six attempted murders that injured six people, including 17-year-old Elsa who was shot in both thighs. The suspect is being taken into care by social services, and a LUL investigation is starting. According to Brå, nine out of ten such children are known to social services, half have a psychiatric diagnosis, and one-third of boys show high aggression and low impulse control.
In Denmark, the age was lowered to 14 in 2010, but crime rose and it was raised back to 15, as youth lack long-term thinking for deterrence.