The bill, a referral to the legislative council, will give social services the opportunity to use some coercion for preventive purposes when families do not consent to interventions for children who are at risk of being drawn into crime.
The interventions may involve requiring children and young people to take drug tests, remaining at home during specified hours, or attending school or leisure activities.
If guardians do not cooperate, a fine can be issued. The amount would vary depending on the parents' income.
Ankle cuff for children
We need the possibility of sanctions in cases where parents choose not to help and support their children, says Camilla Waltersson Grönvall.
To ensure that a child stays at home, electronic monitoring is proposed, which could include electronic ankle monitors. The government is therefore working in parallel on a proposal for electronic ankle monitors for children and young people, which will be presented in the near future, according to Waltersson Grönvall.
From what age should these measures apply?
We are now working on several parallel bills, including a proposal to lower the age of criminal responsibility. We see that ages are decreasing and these measures need to follow suit.
The proposed so-called Intermediate Compulsory Measures Act has received harsh criticism from, among others, the National Board of Health and Welfare, which believes that electronic monitoring is an overly intrusive measure for young people who are not suspected or convicted of a crime.
However, Camilla Waltersson Grönvall says that more tools are needed for social workers to prevent children and young people from getting involved in crime.
We see that it can take two or three weeks to recruit children and young people into criminal networks. It happens incredibly quickly, she says.
“Less intervention”
According to Minister of Social Affairs Jakob Forssmed (KD), there is currently "a large gap" between voluntary efforts and those based on coercion.
It should be remembered that today social services have the option of taking the most intrusive measure available, which is to forcibly take a child into care.
What we are adding now is not more powerful measures, but less intrusive measures, he says.
According to the bill, guardians should also have the right to take time off work and receive temporary parental benefit to participate in social services' efforts.
