Sweden’s parliament was expected to vote Thursday on lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 15 to 14 for the most serious crimes. Two parties in the Folketing say Denmark should do the same.
DR reports that the Swedish Riksdag was due to adopt the change on August 13, 2026. The measure would cover only the most serious offences, not all crimes. According to DR, the Swedish move follows several years of rising crime among children and young people.
Danmarksdemokraterne and Dansk Folkeparti told DR they want a similar change in Denmark, where the limit remains 15 years. Hans Christian Skibby, justice spokesman for Danmarksdemokraterne, said Denmark should act before conditions here resemble those in Sweden. He pointed to Swedish gangs crossing the Øresund on so-called torpedo trips, calling a lower age limit timely caution.
Dansk Folkeparti goes further than the Swedish model. Justice spokesman Anders Vistisen said his party would prefer an age limit of 12 years for serious offences. As reported by DR, he named serious violence, contract killings and carrying hand grenades on trains on the orders of a Swedish gang.
Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen of the Social Democrats was not available for an interview, DR writes, and referred the broadcaster to SF’s justice spokesman, Karina Lorentzen. Per Lorentzen, Denmark already has the tools it needs to handle young offenders. She said the age of criminal responsibility should stay where it is.
SF points to existing measures
Lorentzen noted that children can be placed in secured institutions and given longer programs by the Youth Crime Board. She added that placing children and young people together with other offenders is not always a good solution. DR frames the Danish exchange against concerns about youth crime and safety in Denmark.
The Youth Crime Board is the body both sides refer to in the Danish system. According to the Danish Ministry of Justice, it can impose targeted preventive measures on children and young people aged 10 to 17. The mandate covers those suspected of or convicted for violent or other serious offences.
The same ministry document states that the youth crime reform creating the board took effect on January 1, 2019. An evaluation published by the ministry in 2024 found a lower risk of reoffending among 10 to 14-year-olds whose cases went before the board. For 15 to 17-year-olds, the evaluation found no statistically significant difference.
DR’s report is so far the only coverage of the Danish political reaction to the Swedish vote. It does not include a separate Swedish official source confirming the final outcome of Thursday’s vote in the Riksdag.
