In the Tidö Agreement, the government parties and the Sweden Democrats agreed to lower the age of legal majority from today's 15 years. Now the government will appoint an inquiry to review the issue, as Dagens Nyheter previously reported.
The reason is that gang crime is creeping further down the ages.
– The 15-year limit that we have has come about in another time and a different reality, says Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) to SVT News.
He does not want to specify how much they want to reduce by, but points out that Germany (14 years), France (13 years) and the Netherlands (12 years) are examples of countries with lower age limits.
The expert is critical
However, Felipe Estrada, criminology professor at Stockholm University, is critical of the proposal.
"If it's about trying to get at these serious shootings, it's a pretty strange suggestion," he says.
According to Felipe Estrada, there is no scientific evidence that lowering the age of punishment curbs crime among young people.
"Worse still, we know that this is counterproductive to preventing crime at this age," he said.
In Denmark, the age of legal majority was lowered from 2010 to 15 in 14 – but changed back two years later.
"When the Danish researchers evaluated this, it turned out that juvenile delinquency did not decrease, but actually increased juvenile delinquency," says Felipe Estrada.
Risk of devouring resources
In addition, the measure risks devouring important resources needed elsewhere. But Gunnar Strömmer is not worried that milder crimes, such as school fights, will begin to occupy the work of the police.
"I think everyone who thinks about it understands exactly what I'm looking for. We see gang crime that draws children and young people into serious crime. That's where our focus is," he says.
Watch the video player clip above.