How European countries deal with juvenile offenders; Sweden discusses prison for 13-year-olds

How European countries deal with juvenile offenders
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Children and teenagers who should still be in school, aged around 13 or 14, are being lured by criminal networks in Sweden to commit crimes, including murder.
Organized crime exploits a weakness in the Swedish system. According to the law, minors under the age of 15 cannot be held criminally liable. They cannot be tried as criminals, but fall under the jurisdiction of social services and youth assistance. This is part of the strategy of the recruiters, who often remain invisible.
In response to the rise in crime, Sweden has adopted a significantly stricter stance. Recently, Parliament decided that young people aged 15 to 17 can be sentenced to regular prison sentences in juvenile detention centers adapted for serious crimes.
In addition, the government plans to reduce the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years, on an experimental basis, for particularly serious crimes. This would include crimes such as murder, large-scale bombings or other crimes with very high minimum sentences. Parliament will decide on this reform in mid-June. The proposed change provides for a reevaluation after five years.
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Failed example from Denmark
The debate on reducing the age of criminal responsibility is not limited to Sweden. In 2010, under a conservative government, Denmark reduced this limit from 15 to 14 years. Two years later, the reform was reversed. Subsequent scientific assessments concluded that the reduction had no deterrent effect. On the contrary, affected young people reoffended more frequently and performed worse academically.
Therefore, many experts now consider Denmark an example to avoid. Criminalizing children at such young ages does not automatically solve the problem of youth violence. In the worst case scenario, contact with the criminal system can even further link young people to a criminal environment.
Criminal age of 12
Compared to other European Union (EU) countries, the Netherlands and Ireland have the lowest ages of criminal liability.
In the Netherlands, children from the age of 12 can be prosecuted. In Ireland, as a rule, a limit of 12 years also applies; however, in cases of very serious crimes, such as murder, qualified homicide, rape or serious sexual crimes, children aged 10 and 11 can also be held responsible.
This low limit does not automatically mean severe prison sentences like those imposed by criminal legislation for adults. In the Netherlands, the maximum period of detention for young people aged 12 to 15 is one year. For 16 and 17 year olds, the maximum period for serious crimes - with specific exceptions - is two years. Furthermore, school education, support and educational measures remain a priority in juvenile detention.
Priority for protection and education
In Germany or Spain, a child who commits a serious crime at the age of 12 is not criminally responsible. However, this does not mean that the State cannot do anything. Youth support services, courts or protection measures may intervene. Detention in detention institutions is possible under certain conditions, but not as punishment in the legal sense.
The child is not treated as a criminal, but as a minor at risk. This approach is particularly evident in Spanish legislation. Children under 14 are not subject to juvenile criminal law, but rather to laws protecting children and youth.
More and more young people detained in Italy
Italy, in turn, has adopted a more environmentally friendly approach to children. With the so-called Caivano Decree on the detention of minors - named after the city where minors committed serious acts of sexual violence that shocked the country - Italy has increased pressure on parents when supervision and school attendance obligations are violated. In cases of serious neglect of compulsory education, parents also face criminal charges.
However, Italy is not simply the antithesis of the Swedish approach. The decree toughened the punishment for juvenile offenders in general. Critics point out that, since its implementation, the number of young people in juvenile detention centers has increased significantly.
Austria puts pressure on the environment
For many European Union (EU) Member States, the age of 14 remains the fundamental reference point. In Austria, children under the age of 14 are not criminally responsible. However, infractions can have consequences, which may include conversations with the police and parents, warnings, involvement of youth support services or socio-educational measures.
The lower European criminal age limits do not mean automatic equality with adult criminal law. In most cases, the leading role goes to courts, specialized institutions, socio-educational measures and protection programs.
What does science say?
The decision of many European countries not to equate the punishment of juvenile offenders with that of adults is in line with the findings of developmental psychology. Children and pre-teens react most strongly to immediate rewards, peer pressure, and emotional recognition. Skills such as impulse control, assessing long-term consequences, and planning develop over the years.
For this reason, traditional deterrence methods work only to a limited extent with 13-year-olds. The prospect of a prison sentence in the future competes with an immediate reward: money, recognition, belonging, the feeling of finally having a role to play. Or, on the contrary, with the fear of gangs.
Precisely for this reason, experts warn against the idea of combating juvenile crime simply by reducing the criminal age and toughening sentences.
Gang evasion strategies
Added to this is a practical problem: criminal organizations learn quickly. If Sweden lowers the age of criminal liability to 13 for serious crimes, gangs may try to recruit even younger children. In this case, the problem would not be resolved; Younger children would become targeted by gangs. Therefore, the question is not just at what age a child can be punished. The decisive point is whether the State can reach the adults who give the orders.
Experts are skeptical about the possibility of the government's plans achieving the desired effect. The legal committee of the Swedish Parliament, the Bar Association and several humanitarian aid organizations harshly criticized the project. If it is approved by Parliament, 13-year-olds could be sentenced to prison terms in the second half of this year.

Source: G1