Sweden moves to toughen youth incarceration and abolish multiple‑offense sentencing discounts

Swedish justice minister Gunnar Strömmer announced that, from 1 July, 15‑ to 17‑year‑olds can be sentenced to prison instead of youth care for serious offences, with the new youth‑prison facilities prepared to receive them.

At the same time the Tidö coalition government presented a second phase of its criminal‑law reform that will eliminate the “mängdrabatt” – the discount applied when a person is convicted of several crimes. Under the proposal, sentences for the three most serious offences will be added together, so that three rapes, each carrying three years, could result in nine years instead of the current five. Strömmer said, “It is not reasonable that some crimes in practice become free if one has committed many crimes.” The reforms are part of a broader effort to make sentencing harsher and to phase out conditional sentences and reduced penalties for certain circumstances.