STOCKHOLM: Sweden on Thursday revealed prison conditions that teens as young as 13 will face if convicted of a serious criminal offense, once a much-criticized juvenile judicial reform takes effect in July.
The minority rightwing government, which is backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats and has prioritized the fight against surging crime rates, announced in January that it would reduce the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13.
A majority of the 126 authorities the government consulted about the change were critical or opposed it outright, including the police and the prison service, but the government has moved forward with its plans regardless.
The Scandinavian country has struggled for more than a decade to contain a surge in organized violent crime, linked primarily to settlings of scores between rival gangs and battles to control the drug market.
The loosely-formed networks have increasingly recruited under-15s, often online, as highly-paid hitmen to carry out bombings and shootings, knowing they would not face prison time if caught.
Eight existing prisons have been tasked with preparing special sections for children, with three of them due to open by July 1 when the reform is scheduled to enter into force, the government said Thursday.
The children will be kept separated from adult inmates, and will be locked in their cells for 11 hours at night instead of the 14 hours for adults, Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer told a press conference.
In addition to attending school lessons during the day, the children will have their own cafeteria, recreation yard, gym and infirmary.
Currently, most minors found guilty of serious crimes are not sentenced to prison.
They are usually ordered into closed detention facilities, called SIS homes, tasked with mandatory care and rehabilitation, rather than a punitive system like prison.
However, many SIS homes have in recent years become recruiting bases for the criminal networks.
- ‘Counter-productive’ -
“Society and crime have changed fundamentally,” Strommer said.
“Young people in general commit fewer crimes. But those who do commit more and much more serious crimes,” he said, adding that “it is much more common for youths to use weapons and explosives.”
He said Sweden was facing “an emergency situation with the gangs, the shootings and explosions with 15, 16 or 17-year-old kids convicted of murder or involvement in murder plots.”
“But there are even younger children involved... For a long time, we have done far too little to address this development, and the system simply hasn’t kept up.”
Children’s rights association Bris said the government’s reform was “counter-productive, insufficiently researched and violates children’s rights.”
It warned that locking such young children away in prison would lead to increased recidivism and encourage criminal networks to recruit ever younger children.
The union representing social workers and prison and SIS home employees, Akademikerförbundet SSR, was also critical, lamenting the speed at which the reform was being pushed through.
“We are very concerned that the Swedish Prison and Probation Service will not have time to build up staff expertise in working with children and to establish a high-quality school,” union expert Fredrik Hjulstrom said.
“The staff of the Prison and Probation Service are qualified to work with adults, and a completely different set of skills is required to succeed with children.”
The reform is being introduced temporarily, limited to five years to start with.
The government is currently trying to rapidly push through a slew of reforms in various areas, ahead of legislative elections in September.
