The Children's Ombudsman, Juno Blom, criticizes the Swedish government's proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, arguing it addresses symptoms rather than root causes. She advocates for early interventions to prevent children from falling into crime, highlighting the failure of authorities to identify vulnerable children before criminal gangs do.
Children's Ombudsman Criticizes Proposal to Lower Criminal Age to 13
Children's Ombudsman Criticizes Proposal to Lower Criminal Age to 13
The Children's Ombudsman is critical of the government and the Sweden Democrats' proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 years.
– It sounds decisive, but it addresses a symptom while ignoring the actual causes, says Children's Ombudsman Juno Blom.
Instead, the Children's Ombudsman wants the government to invest in early interventions to catch children at risk of falling into crime.
– It is such a failure that responsible authorities do not catch these children, while criminal gangs identify vulnerability factors, she says, adding:
– Of course, we must take action, but it affects our entire society if we think the solution is to place 13-year-olds in detention and prison.