Finland steps up fight against youth crime amid rising violence

The government has this week implemented an action plan to curb youth crime, with violence by children under 15 increasing by 300 percent between 2015 and 2021, reported Xinhua.

Minister of Justice Leena Meri told a press conference on Thursday that membership of a gang and violence on social media will now be considered grounds for punishment as aggravated crimes.

While a youth punishment code already exists in Finland, it has not been widely used so far. A youth may not consider a suspended sentence without probation control a punishment at all, Meri said.

People under 15 do not have criminal responsibility in Finland, and cannot be detained or sentenced. Recently, a school shooting carried out by a 12-year-old shocked the nation.

Ville Hinkkanen, director general at the Division for Criminal Law and Policy at the Ministry of Justice, said that the action program would focus on crime suspects and risk groups.

The government will investigate a legal framework for briefly detaining suspects aged under 15, or imposing a travel ban on such children.

A rehabilitation program for minors, to be arranged in closed institutions, is also being developed.