At the end of January 2024, 6,881 men and women were behind bars in Switzerland. This is 7% more than a year ago. The occupancy rate has risen to its highest level in ten years.
The number of prisoners is comparable to that before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 64% of prisoners were serving sentences or other disciplinary measures, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on Monday. Another 30% were in pre-trial detention or preventive detention and 6% were detained for other reasons.
Despite the increase in the number of prisoners in January 2024, the number of available places in prisons remained stable at 7,251 compared to the previous year. The occupancy rate across Switzerland increased by over 5%. On January 31, 2024, almost 95% of all places in Switzerland’s correctional facilities were occupied, the highest number since 2014.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Climate adaptation
Why Switzerland is among the ten fastest-warming countries in the world
In Switzerland more people are being referred to electrical therapies or psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy. Are there similar approaches where you live?
Prince William will attend the Women’s Euro 2025 final in Basel
This content was published on
The heir to the British throne will be watching the final of the European Women's Football Championship live in the stadium on Sunday.
Reduced fine for Credit Suisse in currency cartel case
This content was published on
The Court of Justice of the European Union has reduced the fine imposed on Credit Suisse from €83.2 million to €28.9 million, while confirming its involvement in a spot foreign exchange cartel.
This content was published on
A study conducted at the University of Zurich has shown that when animals make decisions for their group, their hearts beat faster.
Swiss firm ABB to electrify one of the largest oil and gas terminals
This content was published on
ABB has won a major contract in Azerbaijan for the electrification and grid stability of one of the world's largest oil and gas terminals, Sangachal.
Swiss railways’ ‘invisible disabilities’ lanyards prove popular
This content was published on
According to the Swiss Federal Railways, there is great interest in its lanyards for travellers with invisible disabilities.
This content was published on
A prisoner who escaped on Thursday in Baden, canton Aargau, is still on the run. The 23-year-old Albanian, who was in custody for burglary, was wearing handcuffs when he escaped.
Swiss city places information boards next to Nazi memorial
This content was published on
The city of Chur in eastern Switzerland has erected four information boards next to the Nazi memorial in the Daleu cemetery.
Swiss heat: parallels drawn with 2003 ‘summer of century’
This content was published on
Looking at the current weather situation in Switzerland, the private weather service MeteoNews has drawn parallels with the hot summer of 2003.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.