The Parliament of Sweden has given the green light this Thursday to a legal reform that reduces the age of criminal responsibility from the current 15 years to 14 and raises the maximum applicable sentence for minors to 18 years in prison.
The proposal has been supported by 281 deputies --including the parties of the Executive and the Social Democratic opposition-- against 66 votes in favor, and it implies lowering the age of criminality "for serious crimes for a period of five years" by one year.
At the same time, the reform toughens the maximum punishment for crimes committed by minors by four years, setting it at 18 years in prison. Thus, young people who until now could receive sentences of up to 14 years in prison will face sentences of up to 18 years.
The Riksdag has pushed forward the initiative of the Swedish Government to "toughen the rules for juvenile offenders," according to the Parliament's website, which refers to a "need arising from the significant increase in serious crime among young people."
The new regulation will come into force on September 10, just three days before the legislative elections scheduled in the Nordic country.
The current Executive, a coalition of right-wing parties supported by the far-right Sweden Democrats (SD), has placed the fight against crime at the center of its agenda since coming to power in 2022, even proposing to lower the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 13 years, an idea that it ultimately withdrew due to lack of support.