Sweden's government has decided to abandon plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13 from the current 15, as reported by Reuters and YLE.
According to Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer, there is not enough support in the parliament for this change. Instead, the government is proposing a new legislation that would lower the age of criminal responsibility to 14, which is the European average.
Sweden has seen a surge in gang crime over the last twenty years with the number of shootings now among the highest in Europe. This has caused a great deal of discussion in Sweden about young criminals.