Secret and preventive coercive measures to be permitted when children under the age of 15 commit crimes
Published:
Law enforcement authorities will have the opportunity to use secret and preventive coercive measures against children under the age of 15. The Riksdag voted in favour of the Government’s proposals.
The proposals are designed to provide authorities with better tools to combat serious crimes committed by children, and to reduce the risk of children becoming involved in criminal activities.
According to the proposals:
- secret coercive measures may be used to investigate certain serious crimes, where the individual reasonably suspected of an offence is under the age of 15;
- preventive coercive measures may, in certain cases, be used against children under the age of 15 to prevent, avert and detect particularly serious criminality;
- it will be possible to detain children in a greater number of cases and for slightly longer than today, for questioning or for the purpose of handing them over, for example, to parents or the social services.
The amendments will come into force on 1 October 2025. Several of the amendments are temporary until 30 September 2028 or 30 September 2030.