Sweden prepares prisons for 13-year-old gang killers

Sweden is confronting a growing crisis of gang-related violence, with a significant number of crimes committed by minors, forcing authorities to prepare prisons for children as young as 13. The current government, facing a tight election in September where crime is a central issue, intends to abandon its past lenient approach. They plan to imprison children under 15, a move that departs from the previous system of placing them in social care.

This policy shift, however, is met with apprehension from some experts and lawmakers who argue it is the wrong direction. Sweden is battling a pervasive wave of gang activity, with criminal networks deeply involved in drug dealing, large-scale fraud, and robbery, generating an estimated $20 billion annually. Police figures indicate approximately 17,500 active gang members and 50,000 associates are involved.

Gangs actively recruit teenagers, and in some alarming cases, children as young as 11, to carry out murders and bombings across the Nordic region. The government's proposed tough-on-crime stance aims to address this escalating problem, but critics fear it could exacerbate the issue rather than solve it.