{"id":793,"date":"2026-06-02T15:10:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=793"},"modified":"2026-06-02T15:10:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T15:10:18","slug":"sweden-prepares-prisons-for-13-year-old-gang-killers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=793","title":{"rendered":"Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>Summary<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>ROSERSBERG PRISON, Sweden, June 2 (Reuters) &#8211; A \u200bsurge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors, has set Sweden apart from its European peers \u200cand left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.<\/div>\n<div>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&#8217;s time to get tough by sending children aged under 15 to prison rather than into social care.<\/div>\n<div>However, some experts and lawmakers warn this is the wrong approach.<\/div>\n<div>Sweden is fighting a \u200bwave of gang crime, with networks active in drug dealing, large-scale fraud and robbery that earn them around 185 billion Swedish crowns ($20 billion) a year.<\/div>\n<div>Police estimate there are \u200b17,500 active gang members and 50,000 associates. Gangs use social media to recruit teenagers, and in some cases children as young as 11, to \u2060commit murders and bombings across the Nordics.<\/div>\n<h2>UNDER-15S FACED MURDER OR ATTEMPTED MURDER CHARGES<\/h2>\n<div>Under a proposed new law, the age of criminal responsibility will be lowered to 13 from 15 \u2014 below \u200bthat of most European countries \u2014 and minors convicted of the most serious crimes will be locked up in special prisons. One will take girls.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;We have an emergency,&#8221; Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said \u200bin April.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Last year, 52 children under the age of 15 were involved in legal trials suspected of murder or attempted murder. So we&#8217;re not talking about theft, not even assault or robbery. We&#8217;re talking about murder.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>Parliament will vote on the legislation, which will be reviewed after five years, on June 15.<\/div>\n<div>Lowering the age of responsibility is one new tactic to tackle gang violence<svg><\/svg><span>, opens new tab<\/span>, others include longer prison sentences and expanded police powers.<\/div>\n<div>The right-wing \u200bgovernment says its crackdown is yielding results. Forty-four people were shot dead in 2025, down from a peak of 62 in 2022. More gang members are behind bars.<\/div>\n<div>But stopping gangs recruiting children \u200bwill be much harder. The government says prison will act as a deterrent and intensive rehabilitation programmes will prevent re-offending.<\/div>\n<h2>PUBERTY IN PRISON<\/h2>\n<div>At Rosersberg prison, north of Stockholm, one of three jails being rebuilt for \u200cthe most violent \u2060teenage offenders, life behind bars will focus on schooling.<\/div>\n<div>In their free time, prisoners may watch television, play video games or train in a gym. Cells will be locked from 8 p.m. each evening.<\/div>\n<div>Prison Governor Gabriel Wessman expects the first inmates after the summer. The biggest challenge compared to adult prisoners will be giving the teenagers, some of whom have never lived away from their parents, comfort and support, he said.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They will grow up in here,&#8221; he said, adding the prison needs to help them through puberty. Phones are not allowed, while chess lessons will help \u200bconcentration. But they also need an emotional outlet, \u200bhe said.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;It&#8217;s not that uncommon in the \u2060outside world that boys at this age have soft toys,&#8221; Wessman said. &#8220;Maybe we should see that we have one in every cell.&#8221;<\/div>\n<h2>TEENAGE GANG MEMBERS FREQUENTLY REOFFEND<\/h2>\n<div>Until now, Sweden&#8217;s worst juvenile offenders have been dealt with by social services. But that system is widely seen as a failure. Nine \u200bout of ten young gang members held in youth homes relapse, a report by the Swedish National Audit Office said. Eight out \u200bof ten end up in \u2060prison as adults.<\/div>\n<div>Incarceration will protect the public, provide justice for victims and break ties to gangs, the majority government says.<\/div>\n<div>Critics worry about the impact on the children.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;A 13-year-old is a child \u2014 one who is not even legally old enough to purchase energy drinks,&#8221; opposition Centre Party spokeswoman Wilma Roth said. &#8220;Children under 15 who commit serious crimes should be taken into care and provided treatment, rather than \u2060being imprisoned.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div>Sweden&#8217;s law \u200benforcement and prison authorities have also voiced concerns.<\/div>\n<div>Britain and Northern Ireland \u2014 where the age of criminal responsibility is \u200b10 \u2014 are debating raising the threshold.<\/div>\n<div>Denmark experimented with lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 14 in 2010 but researchers concluded there was no effect on crime levels.<\/div>\n<div>Stockholm University Criminology Professor Felipe Estrada Dorner said locking up already marginalised \u200bkids risked hurting their life-chances, but that society needed to be protected.<\/div>\n<div>&#8220;We cannot have murderers walking our streets,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div>($1 = 9.2957 Swedish crowns)<\/div>\n<div>(This story has been refiled to remove therepetition of thedate of the parliamentary vote in paragraph 19)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=791\">Putin\u2019s \u2018Davos\u2019 haunted by war and stagnation despite the swank of influencers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=788\">Netanyahu faces criticism after Trump halts Israeli strikes on Beirut<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/reliablemovingcrews.com\/?p=785\">Trump appoints ally and FHFA chief Pulte as acting US intelligence director<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A \u200bsurge in gang-related shootings and bombings over the last decade, dozens of which were carried out by minors, has set Sweden apart from its European peers \u200cand left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[10],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-world"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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