The Swedish government announced on Thursday that it will drop plans to lower the age of criminal responsibility to 13, following a lack of support from parliament.
Gunnar Strommer, Justice Minister of the centre-right government, instead said that new legislation would be introduced to set the limit at 14 years old. The current age of criminal responsibility in Sweden is 15 years.
The plans come as Sweden grapples with a surge in gang crime and shooting, with the government struggling to stop the recruitment of younger teens and children to carry out crimes.
The government had planned to lock up children as young as 13 in special prison units, instead of the current system of youth homes.
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