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Sweden to reduce age of criminal responsibility as gangs hire children as hitmen
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
Company
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on September 9, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Sweden plans to lower the criminal responsibility age due to rising youth gang involvement. The government aims to protect children from exploitation.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Sweden will lower the age of criminal responsibility from the current 15, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Tuesday, following an increase in cases of criminal gangs recruiting children via social media and using them as hitmen.
The number of under-15s suspected of murder, aiding and abetting murder or attempted murder was 93 in the first six months of 2024, according to the latest official data, up three times from the same period a year earlier.
A government-appointed investigator recommended this year that the age of criminal responsibility be lowered to 14 in cases of particularly serious crime, but Kristersson did not say whether his government would follow that recommendation.
"Children are being ruthlessly exploited by criminal networks to commit serious crimes," he said in an annual policy speech as parliament reopened after the summer break.
"Both to protect these children and their potential victims, the government is taking strong action against this type of cynical exploitation," he added.
Sweden has been plagued by organised crime-related shootings and blasts for well over a decade, with the increase in young perpetrators becoming evident since 2023.
Despite concern about criminal gangs in the Nordic country, the number of gang-related shootings and murders decreased in 2024 and are on course to slow again this year.
(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom and Johan Ahlander;Editing by Louise Rasmussen and Helen Popper)
Sweden will lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 for particularly serious crimes.
The government aims to protect children being exploited by criminal networks and to address the rising number of young perpetrators involved in serious crimes.
In the first six months of 2024, there were 93 under-15s suspected of murder or attempted murder, which is three times the number from the previous year.
Despite concerns about criminal gangs, the number of gang-related shootings and murders decreased in 2024 and is expected to slow again this year.
The increase in young perpetrators of organized crime has become evident since 2023, prompting government action.
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