00:00Do these juveniles need soft toys or not?
00:04That's one of the questions facing Rosenberg prison governor Gabriel Westman,
00:08as Sweden prepares to jail some offenders as young as 13.
00:12These are people who have committed serious crimes, but still they are young adults,
00:21and it could be at that point that some of them don't have reached puberty yet.
00:27Located north of Stockholm, the prison is one of three in the country
00:31being rebuilt to hold violent teenage offenders.
00:35From July, those convicted of crimes such as aggravated assault,
00:38murder and rape could be sent here.
00:43Sweden's tougher approach follows a surge in gang-related shootings and bombings,
00:47many involving minors, over the past decade.
00:50The government says the country's reliance on social services has failed,
00:55and it wants to lower the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 13.
01:01Parliament will vote on the proposed law in mid-June.
01:04That would send some of the youngest and most serious offenders
01:08to special prisons instead of youth homes.
01:11According to Justice Minister Gunnar Stromer,
01:14More than 50 under-15s were involved in legal trials last year over suspected or attempted murder.
01:21Overall, we assess that we have a very acute and very serious situation with life-threatening violence
01:27that also justifies far-reaching measures of this kind.
01:31But critics, including Sweden's law enforcement and prison authorities,
01:35have voiced concerns about locking up children.
01:39Prisons aren't a place where you put 13-year-olds.
01:42Left party group leader Samuel Gonzalez-Westling says his party is strongly opposed to the policy.
01:48He says there are other institutions for these children who are in serious need of help.
01:53The right-wing government, which faces a tight election in September where crime is a key issue,
01:58says its crackdown has brought results. It says shooting deaths have dropped and more gang members are behind bars.
02:05But stopping gangs recruiting young people will be much harder.
02:10Police say criminal networks use social media to reach kids, some as young as 11.
02:16The government says prison will act as a deterrent,
02:20and intensive rehabilitation programs will prevent re-offending.
02:24That's despite neighbour Denmark raising its criminal age back up to 15,
02:29after lowering the age to 14 saw no effect on crime.
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