Finland weighs lowering criminal responsibility age as child offending rises

Finland is reviewing whether to lower its age of criminal responsibility as the number of under-15s suspected of offences rises, Yle reports. Yle reporters visited a cell in the juvenile remand unit at Vantaa Prison.

More than 10,000 under-15s were recorded as offenders in Finland last year, twice the number recorded a decade earlier, according to Statistics Finland. Police investigated nearly 18,000 cases in which the suspected offender was under 15.

The age of criminal responsibility in Finland is 15. Children under that age cannot be sentenced for an offence, but police make a child welfare notification. They can still be held liable for damages. The Ministry of Justice is examining whether to lower the age, with its review due to be completed by the end of the year.

Sweden decided in August to lower the minimum age from 15 to 14 for the most serious crimes. Finland’s Justice Minister Leena Meri has said she hopes Finland will follow that example.

Many experts doubt that lowering the age would reduce crime. Denmark lowered it from 15 to 14 in the early 2010s, but the change did not reduce youth crime. Fourteen-year-olds became more likely to reoffend, and Denmark later restored the age to 15.

Legal scholars and police have also questioned whether a lower age would help in Finland. Legal psychologist Julia Korkman has said research suggests harsher punishments may have a more negative than positive effect.