Crime in Switzerland

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Swiss police in Geneva

Crime in Switzerland is combated mainly by cantonal police. The Federal Office of Police investigates organised crime, money laundering and terrorism.

Crime statistics[edit]

In Switzerland, the police registered a total of 526,066 offenses under the Criminal Code in 2014 (-9% compared with previous year), of which were 186,708 or 35.5% cases of thefts (excluding vehicles, -14%), and 47,762 or 9% cases of thefts of vehicles (including bicycles, +8%), 41 killings (-28%) and 132 attempted murders (-13%). There were 556 cases of rape (-3%). Offenses against the Narcotics Act decreased by 16.8% to 80,986. Offenses against the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals decreased by 4.7% to a total of 39,544.[1]

In 2014, 110,124 adults were convicted, of which 55,240 (50%) were convicted according to traffic regulation offences, 6,540 (+1.6%) for trafficking in narcotic substances, and 17,882 (-7.2%) for offenses against the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals.[2] 83,014 or 83.4% of adult convicted people are male, and 42,289 or 42.5% of them Swiss citizens.[3] In the same year, 11,484 minors (78% of them male, 68% of them of Swiss nationality, 64.2% aged either 16 or 17) were convicted.[3]

Convictions for infliction of bodily harm have steadily increased throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with 23 convictions for serious injury and 831 for light injury in 1990 as opposed to 78 and 2,342, respectively, in 2005. Convictions for rape have also slightly increased, fluctuating between 61 and 100 cases per year in the period 1985 to 1995, but between 100 and 113 cases in the period 2000 to 2005. Consistent with these trends, convictions for threats or violence directed against officials has consistently risen in the same period, from 348 in 1990 to 891 in 2003.[4][5]

Types of convictions[edit]

The number of convicted persons is given in the following tables.[6] Each class of crime references the relevant section of the Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code, abbreviated as StGB in German), or Betäubungsmittelgesetz (abbr. BetmG, Narcotics Act), or the Strassenverkehrsgesetz (abbr. SVG, Swiss Traffic Regulations).

Year Total Convicted
Adults
(StGB only)		 Homicide
(Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB) 		Serious Bodily Injury
(Art. 122 StGB) 		Minor Bodily Injury
(Art. 123 StGB)		 Sexual Contact with Children
(Art. 187 StGB)		 Rape
(Art. 190 StGB) 		Theft
(Art. 139 StGB) 		Robbery
(Art. 140 StGB)		 Receiving Stolen Goods
(Art. 160 StGB) 		Embezzlement
(Art. 138 StGB)		 Fraud
(Art. 146 StGB)		 Narcotics Possession Major Violation of Traffic Laws
(Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG)		 Impaired Driving
(Art. 91 SVG)
2005 26,200 106 95 2,438 416 110 5,968 498 1,249 907 1,468 5,508 22,013 16,466
2006 26,428 116 108 2,553 389 134 5,892 574 1,184 863 1,512 5,419 21,725 20,900
2007 24,184 104 93 2,283 387 136 5,505 532 943 805 1,587 5,073 21,431 20,083
2008 26,025 102 134 2,622 408 133 5,732 537 914 840 1,641 5,349 25,184 20,376
2009 27,497 100 130 2,665 384 131 6,393 553 943 847 1,555 5,491 25,472 19,483
2010 28,603 96 152 2,690 331 134 6,669 611 911 783 1,746 6,104 25,960 20,421
2011 29,645 84 137 2,775 276 87 7,074 464 1,033 726 1,831 4,851 24,040 19,127
2012 34,270 117 188 2,902 298 110 9,026 534 1,347 756 1,994 5,795 23,248 18,662
2013 35,726 121 187 2,892 322 99 9,577 683 1,440 676 2,332 6,119 22,584 17,625
2014 34,335 123 235 2,768 318 109 8,557 584 1,154 694 2,253 6,384 24,838 17,327
2015 32,992 115 239 2,581 350 104 7,491 528 946 693 2,434 6,746 23,881 16,728
2016a 32,378 91 206 2,471 294 86 7,028 408 804 693 2,294 6,354 22,473 16,720
^a 2016 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.
^ Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.
Year Total Convicted
Minors
(StGB only)		 Homicide
(Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB) 		Serious Bodily Injury
(Art. 122 StGB) 		Minor Bodily Injury
(Art. 123 StGB)		 Sexual Contact with Children
(Art. 187 StGB)		 Rape
(Art. 190 StGB) 		Theft
(Art. 139 StGB) 		Robbery
(Art. 140 StGB)		 Receiving Stolen Goods
(Art. 160 StGB) 		Embezzlement
(Art. 138 StGB)		 Fraud
(Art. 146 StGB)		 Narcotics Possession Major Violation of Traffic Laws
(Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG)		 Impaired Driving
(Art. 91 SVG)
2005 7,580 7 10 634 73 14 3,528 375 400 34 65 918 124 180
2006 7,768 7 22 644 118 19 3,417 330 390 35 51 1,019 125 188
2007 6,912 7 21 701 102 20 2,190 285 285 21 47 680 117 141
2008 6,976 4 24 688 80 17 1,999 334 272 17 57 560 101 125
2009 6,930 7 24 664 73 5 2,031 366 315 19 57 600 142 105
2010 7,614 13 36 770 71 17 2,411 413 242 19 51 566 120 141
2011 5,428 2 31 551 65 5 1,589 259 155 10 49 507 138 152
2012 5,073 2 34 476 69 8 1,624 305 165 25 56 555 74 124
2013 5,193 4 31 408 75 22 1,664 324 171 26 90 691 72 95
2014 4,912 3 33 393 66 9 1,388 240 162 25 70 832 91 126
2015 4,518 4 28 342 89 5 1,387 196 146 17 73 972 127 105
2016a 4,613 6 47 342 69 11 1,415 161 151 15 93 879 86 111
^a 2016 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.
^ Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.

Historic conviction rates[edit]

The historic adult conviction rates are given in the following chart:[6]

Year Total Adult
Convictions		 Criminal Convictions Narcotics Convictions Traffic Convictions
Total Male Swiss Total Male Swiss Total Male Swiss
1985 46,252 20,272 81.1% 66.8% 3,855 81.3% 69.9% 22,125 89.6% 74.5%
1990 52,030 19,810 80.2% 57.1% 4,176 81.8% 61.4% 28,044 88.5% 67.2%
1995 57,478 17,824 83.3% 55.0% 5,442 84.1% 53.7% 34,212 86.5% 63.3%
2000 68,654 20,614 85.2% 49.5% 6,798 70.7% 34.6% 41,242 85.0% 60.3%
2005 80,484 26,199 84.7% 49.7% 6,847 71.6% 33.3% 47,438 84.0% 55.5%
2006 85,477 26,583 84.8% 50.2% 6,792 70.1% 34.7% 52,102 83.7% 54.8%
2007 80,299 24,265 85.0% 51.3% 6,051 74.4% 35.3% 49,983 84.4% 53.9%
2008 88,147 26,327 84.5% 51.0% 6,240 77.2% 36.8% 55,580 83.5% 52.6%
2009 89,542 27,727 84.7% 48.5% 6,430 76.8% 34.8% 55,385 83.3% 52.4%
2010 93,187 28,691 84.0% 47.4% 7,006 78.7% 33.7% 57,490 83.0% 51.6%
2011 87,222 29,128 83.5% 44.9% 5,401 78.2% 32.6% 52,693 83.3% 50.6%
2012 95,702 33,925 83.8% 41.5% 6,562 80.0% 30.6% 55,215 82.0% 50.3%
2013 97,706 35,325 83.3% 40.3% 7,141 77.5% 28.9% 55,240 81.6% 48.8%
2014a 98,582 32,911 82.6% 41.3% 7,392 76.2% 30.4% 58,279 80.4% 48.1%
^a 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.

Age at conviction[edit]

The age of the individuals at the time of their convictions is given in this chart:[6]

Year 18-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-59 60-69 70+
1985 7.9% 26.8% 18.6% 13.6% 10.4% 7.7% 5.4% 6.4% 2.5% 0.7%
1990 6.6% 26.4% 20.7% 14.5% 9.9% 7.5% 5.4% 6.1% 2.2% 0.7%
1995 5.4% 21.4% 20.8% 15.5% 11.5% 8.6% 6.5% 7.1% 2.5% 0.8%
2000 6.5% 19.3% 17.1% 15.5% 12.5% 9.7% 7.2% 8.3% 3.1% 0.9%
2005 7.2% 20.7% 15.4% 13.5% 12.4% 10.5% 7.4% 8.8% 3.1% 1.0%
2006 7.4% 20.6% 15.0% 12.6% 12.0% 10.7% 7.9% 9.2% 3.6% 1.0%
2007 7.5% 20.5% 15.0% 12.2% 12.1% 10.6% 7.9% 9.6% 3.5% 1.2%
2008 6.9% 20.7% 15.3% 12.2% 11.5% 10.1% 8.2% 9.7% 3.9% 1.4%
2009 7.2% 21.0% 15.9% 12.4% 11.2% 10.1% 8.1% 9.0% 3.8% 1.4%
2010 7.1% 20.7% 16.1% 12.3% 11.1% 10.2% 8.0% 9.5% 3.7% 1.4%
2011 6.5% 20.8% 16.8% 12.7% 11.0% 9.5% 7.9% 9.2% 4.0% 1.4%
2012 6.2% 19.9% 17.0% 13.7% 10.7% 9.5% 7.8% 9.3% 4.2% 1.7%
2013 5.9% 18.8% 17.3% 13.9% 11.0% 9.6% 8.2% 9.8% 3.9% 1.6%
2014a 5.4% 17.7% 16.6% 14.2% 11.4% 9.6% 8.6% 10.4% 4.4% 1.8%
^a 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.

Prisons[edit]

At the end of 2006, 5,888 people were interned in Swiss prisons, one third of them on remand, 31% of them Swiss citizens, 69% resident foreigners or illegal immigrants; excluding remand: 36% Swiss or 32 in 100,000, 64% foreigners or 160 in 100,000.

Crime by type[edit]

Drugs[edit]

See also: Legal status of cocaine

As of 2017 drug use was the most common reason why people aged 10-18 were arrested. However, dealing has diminished since 2010.[7]

Swiss authorities, including CHUV, estimate that dealers and traffickers make profits of $28.1-29.1 million a year in Vaud alone.[8]

Analysis of Swiss police records suggests that participants in medical drug rehabilitation programs tend to reduce cocaine, cannabis and heroine use,[9] and the need to commit other crimes to buy their drugs, such as shoplifting, burglary or car theft.[10][11]

Homicide[edit]

Further information: List of countries by intentional homicide rate

In 2016, there were 187 attempted and 45 completed homicides, for a homicide rate of 0.50 per 100,000 population. Of the 232 cases, 123 were committed with bladed weapons, 47 with firearms and 30 unarmed. Out of 217 identified suspects, 187 were male and 30 female; 115 (53%) were foreigners (62 foreigners with permanent residence, and 63 foreigners without permanent residence, including asylum seekers) and 102 (47%) were Swiss citizens. 19 cases (42%) of completed and 52 cases (28%) of attempted homicide were classed as domestic violence.[1]

Corruption[edit]

Main article: Corruption in Switzerland

The Transparency International Global Corruption Perception Index 2013 score for Switzerland is 86 (out of 100) and is the 5th best (out of 175) worldwide.[12]

Crime dynamics[edit]

Immigrant criminality[edit]

The crime rate among resident foreigners ("immigrant criminality") is significantly higher (by a factor 3.7 counting convictions under criminal law in 2003).[13] In 1997, there were for the first time more foreigners than Swiss among the convicts under criminal law (out of a fraction of 20.6% of the total population at the time). In 1999, the Federal Department of Justice and Police ordered a study regarding delinquency and nationality (Arbeitsgruppe "Ausländerkriminalität"), which in its final report (2001) found that a conviction rate under criminal law about 12 times higher among asylum seekers (4%), while the conviction rate among other resident foreigners was about twice as high (0.6%) compared to Swiss citizens (0.3%).[14]

Individuals convicted of violations of the Strafgesetzbuches (StGB)[15]
Year Total persons
convicted		 Total adults
convicted		 Swiss adults
convicted		 Total non-citizen
adults convicted		 Percentage of
Non-citizen adult
convictions		 B, C and Ci
visa holders
convicted		 Other
immigration
status		 Unknown
immigration
status
1999 27,493 21,101 10,314 10,787 51.1% a a a
2000 26,692 20,609 10,201 10,408 50.5% a a a
2001 26,804 20,052 10,233 9,819 49.0% a a a
2002 27,930 20,925 10,307 10,618 50.7% a a a
2003 30,068 22,966 11,115 11,851 51.6% a a a
2004 33,167 25,559 12,357 13,202 51.7% a a a
2005 33,778 26,198 13,025 13,173 50.3% a a a
2006 34,350 26,582 13,347 13,235 49.8% a a a
2007 31,189 24,280 12,455 11,825 48.7% a a a
2008 33,326 26,350 13,433 12,917 49.0% 6,746 4,619 1,552
2009 34,683 27,752 13,452 14,300 51.5% 7,397 5,410 1,493
2010 36,318 28,702 13,612 15,090 52.6% 7,377 6,228 1,485
2011 34,591 29,162 13,108 16,054 55.1% 7,317 7,366 1,371
2012 39,043 33,969 14,095 19,874 58.5% 7,989 9,922 1,963
2013 40,726 35,528 14,309 21,219 59.7% 8,345 10,568 2,306
2014 38,906 33,995 14,052 19,943 58.7% 8,577 9,362 2,004
2015 b 36,017 31,560 13,423 18,137 57.5% 8,151 8,305 1,681
^a Specific immigration status not collected
^b Final number may change due to appeals and trials still in progress

In 2010 for the first time was a statistic published which listed delinquency by nationality (based on 2009 data). To avoid distortions due to demographic structure, only the male population aged between 18 and 34 was considered for each group. From this study it became clear that crime rate is highly correlated on the country of origin of the various migrant groups. Thus, immigrants from Germany, France and Austria had a significantly lower crime rate than Swiss citizens (60% to 80%), while immigrants from Angola, Nigeria and Algeria had a crime rate of above 600% of that of Swiss population. In between these extremes were immigrants from Former Yugoslavia, with crime rates of between 210% and 300% of the Swiss value.[16]

The full report listed 24 nationalities plus the crime rate of Swiss citizens (fixed at 100%), and the average value of all foreign citizens combined, at 160%. Commentators expressed surprise[17] at the clear geographical structure of the list, giving, in decreasing order, Africa, the Middle East and the Balkans, Southern Europe and Western and Central Europe. The Federal Statistics Office published the study with the caveat that the sizes of the groups under comparison vary considerably. For example, the net impact of a crime rate increased by 530% among 500 Angolans will still be five times smaller than a crime rate increased by 30% among 46'000 Portuguese. The country is a target for foreign criminals on account of its reputation as an affluent nation. According to British criminal Colin Blaney in his autobiography 'Undesirables', groups of English thieves have frequently targeted the nation in the past due to the fact its citizens are relatively wealthy and the fact that they are naïve about crime due to the country's low crime rate.[18]

rank country of origin crime rate
(relative value)		 registered population
(thousands)[19]		 male young adults
(thousands)[20]
1 Angola 6.3 4.4 0.54
2 Nigeria 6.2 2.9 1.5
3 Algeria 6.0 4.1 1.2
4 Côte d'Ivoire 5.9 1.7 0.44
5 Dominican Republic 5.8 5.9 1.0
6 Sri Lanka 4.7 31 4.4
7 Congo (Kinshasa) 4.7 5.8 0.78
8 Cameroon 4.4 4.3 0.97
9 Morocco 4.3 7.4 1.6
10 Tunisia 4.2 6.3 2.1
11 Iraq 3.7 8.0 2.9
12 Colombia 3.2 4.2 0.71
13 Turkey 3.2 73 16
14 the former Serbia and Montenegro
(includes Kosovo)		 3.1 188 36
15 Brazil 3.0 17 2.5
16 Egypt 2.7 2.1 0.81
17 Croatia 2.4 35 5.0
18 Bosnia and Herzegovina 2.3 37 6.2
19 Republic of Macedonia 2.3 60 12
total foreign national population 1.6 1,714 330
20 Portugal 1.3 213 46
21 Italy 1.2 294 49
22 Switzerland 1.0 6,072 710
23 Austria 0.8 38 5.8
24 France 0.7 95 21
25 Germany 0.6 266 62

On 28 November 2010, 53% of voters approved a new, tougher deportation law. This law, proposed by the Swiss People's Party, called for the automatic expulsion of non-Swiss offenders convicted of a number of crimes, including murder, breaking and entry and even welfare fraud. As the proposal makes deportation mandatory, it denies judges any judicial discretion over deportation. An alternative proposal, that included case by case reviews and integration measures, was rejected by 54% of voters.[21]

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (PKS) - Jahresbericht 2016" (PDF) (official federal site) (in French, German, and Italian). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office (SFO). 23 March 2015. pp. 13, 36–38. ISBN 978-3-303-19065-4. Retrieved 2017-06-10. 
  2. ^ "Kriminalität, Strafvollzug – Daten, Indikatoren; Verurteilungen: Jugendliche und Erwachsene; Verurteilungen 2013 - 2014" (official federal site) (in German and French). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-14. 
  3. ^ a b "Kriminalität, Strafvollzug – Daten, Indikatoren; Verurteilungen: Jugendliche und Erwachsene; Verurteilte Personen 2014" (official federal site) (in German and French). Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Swiss Federal Statistical Office. 30 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-08-14. 
  4. ^ Swiss Federal Statistics Office
  5. ^ Swiss Federal Statistics Office
  6. ^ a b c Kriminalität, Strafvollzug – Daten, Indikatoren: Verurteile Personen: Jugendliche und Erwachsene (in German) accessed 27 October 2017
  7. ^ SRF/SDA-ATS/swissinfo.ch/ilj (6 July 2018). "Youth crime: more drug use, less dealing". Zurich, Switzerland: SWI swissinfo.ch, a branch of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR. Retrieved 2018-07-18. 
  8. ^ https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/drug-study_swiss-cocaine-market-estimated-at-five-tonnes-a-year/44252426
  9. ^ Uchtenhagen et al., 1999
  10. ^ Ribeaud, Denis (2004). "Long-term Impacts of the Swiss Heroin Prescription Trials on Crime of Treated Heroin Users". Journal of Drug Issues (Talahassee, FL: University of Florida): 187. 
  11. ^ http://drugwarfacts.org/region/switzerland
  12. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2014: Results". Neuchâtel, Switzerland: Transparency International. 2014. Retrieved 2015-08-14. 
  13. ^ Swiss Federal Statistics Office
  14. ^ Federal Department of Justice and Police study
  15. ^ Swiss Federal Statistics Office - Kriminalität, Strafvollzug – Daten, Indikatoren Verurteile Personen: Jugendliche und Erwachsene accessed 3 August 2016
  16. ^ Neue Statistik: Tamilen sind krimineller als Ex-Jugoslawen, Tages-Anzeiger 12 September 2010.
  17. ^ so Alard du Bois-Reymond, director of the Federal Office for Migration, see e.g. Blick, 12 September 2010.
  18. ^ Blaney, Colin (2014). Undesirables. John Blake. p. 158. ISBN 978-1782198970. 
  19. ^ data from Swiss Federal Statistics Office
  20. ^ aged 20–39; data from Swiss Federal Statistics Office
  21. ^ "Swiss approve foreign criminal initiative". Swissinfo. 28 November 2010. Retrieved 29 November 2010. 

External links[edit]

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