The opposition Finns Party has called for Finland to lower the age limit of criminal liability to 14, from the current 15 years old.
The proposal was included in the party's updated criminal policy programme, which was published on Monday.
Discussions about the problem of violent crimes carried out by increasingly younger perpetrators have continued for some time in Finland. At the end of last year, data from the National Police Board showed that reports of violent crimes committed by individuals under the age of 15 had more than doubled since 2014.
The Finns Party's programme called for tougher criminal penalties in general, particularly for violent crimes and rape. It also wants to extend the periods of time after which people serving life sentences can be released on parole.
According to current law, convicts serving life sentences can be released on parole after spending 10 or 12 years in prison at the earliest, depending on the perpetrators' age at the time of their crime.
The party did not specify how long it would like to see life sentences extended but said the period should be "significantly longer" than it currently is.
The party's criminal policy programme also criticised current law on incitement against a group of people. The party suggested that following legislative changes, only statements in which a certain group of people are directly threatened — or incite others to commit similar crimes — would meet the criteria of the law.
More law enforcement funding
The party's programme also calls for budgetary boosts for police departments, prosecutors, the court system as well as public defence attorneys.
The proposal suggested increasing the country's police force "quickly, by at least a thousand" officers.
The party said the criminal justice system suffers from insufficient resources and that the endurance of officers, prosecutors, judges and legal aides were "being tested," due to inadequate staffing levels and the "insurmountable" number of cases they face.
There are currently around 7,500 police officers in the country, a figure which reflects recent growth, as in 2017 there were around 7,150 police officers in Finland.