Age of criminal responsibility

The plan establishes that sanctions should be carefully designed to actually reduce crime and not worsen problems, and that focus must instead be directed at preventing the recruitment of children to gang crime. Lowering the criminal responsibility age to 14 years, even temporarily, is the repression the plan explicitly warns against as a substitute for addressing causes. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and confidence in young people point in the same direction.

• prevention before punishmentdecisive»Vissa straff kan behöva höjas men mycket mer fokus måste riktas mot att förhindra rekryteringen av nya barn till gängkriminalitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Some punishments may need to be raised but much more focus must be directed towards preventing the recruitment of new children to gang crime.”
• sanctions shall reduce crime»Straff och andra påföljder för brott behöver vara noggrant« (party programme ↗)“Punishment and other sanctions for crime need to be carefully”
• criticism of harder measures»Alltför ofta lyfts repression och hårdare tag upp som lösningar istället för att ta itu med problemen på allvar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“All too often repression and harder measures are put forward as solutions instead of seriously tackling the problems.”
• child rights perspective»Vi har ett starkt förtroende för unga människors förmåga att fatta« (party programme ↗)“We have strong confidence in young people's ability to make”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan does not take a position on the age of criminal responsibility, but requires a criminal policy based on evidence and legal certainty with focus on rehabilitation, while penalties shall be strengthened for serious and repeated crime and recruitment of children stopped. A limited and time-limited measure in response to serious crimes, rather than a general lowering, comes closest to these principles. The basis is weak and the conclusion derived.

• evidence-based criminal policydecisive»Kriminalpolitik byggd på evidens, effektivitet och rättssäkerhet.« (party programme ↗)“Criminal policy based on evidence, efficiency and legal certainty.”
• stopped recruitment of children»Offensiva insatser mot nyrekrytering och utnyttjande av barn och unga.« (party programme ↗)“Offensive measures against recruitment and exploitation of children and young people.”
• strengthened penalties for serious crime»Vi vill skärpa straffen bland annat för gängrelaterad brottslighet, för den som begår upprepade och allvarliga brott och för den som understödjer organiserad kriminalitet.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to strengthen penalties, among other things for gang-related crime, for anyone who commits repeated and serious crimes and for anyone who supports organized crime.”
• rehabilitation of young people»Fokus på rehabilitering och återgång i samhället.« (party programme ↗)“Focus on rehabilitation and return to society.”

The plan explicitly states that lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not an effective way to create a safer society. The counter-proposal does not want a general lowering, but nonetheless advocates lowering to age 14 for serious crimes, which the plan rejects. The plan's line is instead preventive measures and timely support.

• no to lowered age of criminal responsibilitydecisive»Sänkt straffmyndighetsålder är inte ett effektivt sätt att verka för ett tryggare samhälle.« (party programme ↗)“Lowering the age of criminal responsibility is not an effective way to work for a safer society.”
• prevention before punishment»Den mest kraftfulla åtgärden mot brott är att förebygga att de sker och stöd måste ges i tid.« (party programme ↗)“The most powerful measure against crime is to prevent them from happening and support must be given in time.”
• support for youth at risk»Barn och unga ska få det stöd de behöver för att växa upp i trygghet och frihet, med verkliga möjligheter till en framtid bortom kriminalitet.« (party programme ↗)“Children and young people shall receive the support they need to grow up in safety and freedom, with real opportunities for a future beyond criminality.”
• care before lower age of criminal responsibility»höja maxtiden för sluten ungdomsvård och förstärka vårdinsatser och utbildning under tiden den unge är frihetsberövad, samt införa en utslussningsverksamhet när straffet är avtjänat.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“raise the maximum time for closed youth care and strengthen care and education measures during the time the young person is deprived of liberty, and introduce an outreach program when the sentence is served.”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan responds to youth crime with preventive measures against recruitment, more resources for the justice chain and stricter sentences — not with lowering the age of criminal responsibility. The party programme states that criminal policy shall encourage those who have committed crimes toward a new life situation without crime and that every child's right shall be protected especially. A lowering of the age of criminal responsibility to 14 years therefore lacks support in the documents.

• rehabilitative criminal policydecisive»Kriminalpolitiken ska därför både förebygga och avskräcka från brott, stödja brottsdrabbade och stimulera dem som har begått olagliga handlingar till en ny livssituation utan brottslighet.« (party programme ↗)“Criminal policy shall therefore both prevent and deter from crime, support victims of crime and encourage those who have committed illegal acts toward a new life situation without crime.”
• prevent recruitment, stricter sentences»Samhället ska inte vika sig för gängen. För att besegra dem krävs bättre insatser som förebygger nyrekrytering, mer resurser till polis, åklagare, domstolar och kriminalvården och strängare straff.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Society shall not yield to gangs. To defeat them requires better measures that prevent recruitment, more resources for police, prosecutors, courts and the prison service and stricter sentences.”
• child rights protected»Särskilt viktigt är att värna varje barns rätt att bli respekterad och att bli sedd för den man är.« (party programme ↗)“Particularly important is to protect every child's right to be respected and to be seen for who they are.”
• rule of law limits on criminal policy»Rättsstaten och individens rättigheter gentemot staten måste försvaras. Vi säger därför nej till visitationszoner, kollektiv bestraffning, omvänd bevisbörda, anonyma vittnen, preventiv avlyssning och inskränkningar av religionsfriheten.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The rule of law and the individual's rights against the state must be defended. We therefore say no to search zones, collective punishment, reversed burden of proof, anonymous witnesses, preventive eavesdropping and restrictions on freedom of religion.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan meets very young offenders with police investigation even under fifteen years of age, with detention and with expanded closed youth care and special youth prisons – not with a lowered age of criminal responsibility. The counter-proposal's demand for a temporary lowering to fourteen years for serious crimes therefore has no support in the plan's toolkit. The conclusion is derived, since the plan does not state a position on the age limit as such.

• investigation instead of lowered agedecisive»Tidiga och tydliga insatser för unga brottslingar ökar möjligheten att bryta ett kriminellt beteende. Huvudregeln ska vara att alla brott som anmäls till polis och där den misstänkte är under 15 år ska utredas av polis.« (party programme ↗)“Early and clear measures for young criminals increase the opportunity to break criminal behaviour. The main rule shall be that all crimes reported to police where the suspect is under 15 years shall be investigated by police.”
• detention of youth»betydligt fler barn som fostras in i kriminalitet eller själva begår grova brott ska kunna omhändertas« (2022 manifesto ↗)“significantly more children who are brought into criminality or themselves commit serious crimes shall be able to be detained”
• youth prisons»Vi vill inrätta särskilda fängelser så att unga kriminella både kan få bättre vård under sitt straff och hållas undan äldre brottslingar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We want to establish special prisons so that young criminals both can receive better care during their sentence and be kept away from older criminals.”
• improved closed youth care»Kvaliteten på den slutna ungdomsvården ska förbättras och alla intagna garanteras individuell uppföljning.« (party programme ↗)“The quality of closed youth care shall be improved and all inmates guaranteed individual follow-up.”

The plan's line on youth crime is social measures and quick response: community service shall always be considered first as a consequence for young people, social services' opportunities for coercive measures shall be strengthened and authorities shall respond quickly. The plan does not demand a general lowering of the age of criminal responsibility, which aligns with the counter-proposal's rejection of such a lowering in favour of a limited measure for serious crimes. The conclusion is derived and uncertain since the plan does not address the age of criminal responsibility.

• community service first for young peopledecisive»Samhällstjänst ska alltid övervägas i första hand som påföljd för ungdomar som begått brott.« (party programme ↗)“Community service shall always be considered first as a consequence for young people who have committed crimes.”
• social measures against youth crime»Stärk sociala insatser och socialtjänstens möjligheter till tvingande åtgärder gentemot barn och unga som begår brott.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Strengthen social measures and social services' opportunities for coercive measures against children and young people who commit crimes.”
• quick response to youth crime»reagerar snabbt på brott som begås av ungdomar.« (party programme ↗)“responds quickly to crimes committed by young people.”
• crimes shall be prosecuted without exception»Alla brott ska effektivt och utan undantag beivras,« (party programme ↗)“All crimes shall be effectively and without exception prosecuted,”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly commits to investigating lowered age of criminal responsibility and to establishing youth prisons. A lowering to 14 years for serious crimes is precisely such a lowering, and is in line with the plan's demand for early and clear consequences for young people who choose the criminal path. The plan also wants more young offenders to be detained for serious crimes.

• lowered age of criminal responsibilitydecisive»Utreda sänkt straffmyndighetsålder och inrätta ungdomsfängelser« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Investigate lowered age of criminal responsibility and establish youth prisons”
• early and clear consequences»Moderaterna menar att samhällets skyddsnät ska fungera så pass bra att unga i riskzonen fångas upp långt innan de begår allvarliga brott – men att de som ändå väljer den brottsliga vägen ska mötas av tidiga och tydliga konsekvenser.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“The Moderates believe that society's safety net should work well enough that young people at risk are caught long before they commit serious crimes – but that those who nevertheless choose the criminal path should be met with early and clear consequences.”
• detention of young people for serious crimes»Se till att fler unga lagöverträdare häktas när det rör sig om allvarliga brott och det finns risk för återfall« (2022 manifesto ↗)“See to it that more young offenders are detained when serious crimes are involved and there is a risk of reoffending”
• personal responsibility from a young age»skolan och socialtjänsten ska inskärpa den enskildes ansvar« (party programme ↗)“the school and social services shall emphasize the individual's responsibility”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan explicitly requires a lowered age of criminal responsibility and that social services, schools and the justice system can intervene more firmly at an early stage against young people on the edges of gang environments. The counter-proposal's requirement for a lowering to 14 years for serious crimes is a lowering in the direction the plan indicates, albeit more limited. The plan provides no support for maintaining today's age limit.

• lowered age of criminal responsibilitydecisive»Sänka straffmyndighetsåldern« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Lower the age of criminal responsibility”
• early interventions against young people»Ge socialtjänst, skola och rättsväsende möjlighet att ingripa med tuffare tag i ett tidigt skede« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Give social services, schools and the justice system the ability to intervene more firmly at an early stage”
• early interventions against gang environment»med tidiga markeringar mot de som finns i gängen och klanernas utkanter« (2022 manifesto ↗)“with early interventions against those in gangs and on the edges of clans”
• abolished youth reduction»Straffrabatter för den som begått flerfaldig brottslighet eller begått en rå gärning som ung ska tas bort« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sentence reductions for those who have committed repeated offences or committed a violent act as a young person should be removed”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.