Geline Salac

Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

Article (news)

Reuters Wires

A surge 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 and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.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&#x27;s time to get tough by sending children aged under 15 to prison rather than into social care.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.At Rosersberg prison, north of Stockholm, one of three jails being rebuilt for the most violent teenage offenders, life behind bars will focus on schooling.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.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.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 ($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.In April, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer called it an “emergency”.Parliament will vote on the legislation, which will be reviewed after five years, on June 15.Lowering the age of responsibility is one new tactic to tackle gang violence, others include longer prison sentences and expanded police powers.The right-wing government 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.But stopping gangs recruiting children will be much harder. The government says prison will act as a deterrent and intensive rehabilitation programmes will prevent re-offending.Until now, Sweden&#x27;s worst juvenile offenders have been dealt with by social services. But that system is widely seen as a failure. Nine out of ten young gang members held in youth homes relapse, a report by the Swedish National Audit Office said. Eight out of ten end up in prison as adults.Critics worry about the impact on the children.Group Leader of the Left party, Samuel Gonzalez Westling said his party is “strongly opposed” to the lowering of the age for sentencing.Sweden&#x27;s law enforcement and prison authorities have also voiced concerns.(Production: Tom Little, Ilze Filks)

A surge 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 and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.

A surge 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 and left authorities an urgent problem: what to do with children who kill.

Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

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Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

Reuters

Published June 03, 2026 07:21 AM PHT

Read More:

sweden

juvenile offenders

Samuel Gonzalez Westling

stockholm

Rosersberg prison

Gabriel Wessman

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