On Friday, the Federal Police Office issued a report which portrays a relatively safe Switzerland.
This content was published on
1 minute
However, criminal activities are more and more diversified and have reached a more global level, particularly via the internet.
The Federal Police Office announced it would take tougher measures against large-scale criminal organisations, which require cross-border cooperation.
Its director, Jean-Luc Vez, said that the number of police investigations linked with organised crime has been stable for a few years now.
But criminals are getting better and better at using computer technology. They use the internet to commit crimes worldwide.
Online maps such as Google Maps or Google StreetView make their mission easier and using internet via mobile phones allows them to establish secure connections between many people.
Paedophile networks also take advantage of new technologies. Last year, the number of reports concerning child pornography material on Swiss servers increased markedly.
Globalisation of criminality requires a better organised police cross-border cooperation, the report said. The Schengen agreement, which came into effect a year ago, is showing positive results.
Thanks to the information system SIS, an average of 24 investigations were solved every day and 93 missing people were found.
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.
Read more
More
Parliament comes down hard on foreign criminals
This content was published on
Parliamentarians on Thursday approved a counterproposal that watered down an initiative brought by the rightwing Swiss People’s Party on automatically deporting any foreigner convicted of a serious crime. After a long and heated debate, a majority in parliament decided to give voters an alternative to the People’s Party initiative “for the expulsion of foreigners who…
This content was published on
A Zurich University study has analysed for the first time in Switzerland the court-ordered psychiatric evaluations of teenagers convicted of murder, rape and other serious crimes to see what patterns might exist and what can be done. “We wondered what kind of juveniles these kids are,” Cornelia Bessler, leader of the report at the university’s…
This content was published on
The number of inmates in Swiss prisons grew by five per cent last year to 6,084 – the second-highest level in a decade. This rise is particularly evident in French and Italian-speaking regions. The overall growth has caused mixed reactions among observers. “It’s a startling increase,” said Daniel Laubscher from the Federal Statistics Office, which…
This content was published on
It’s really not clear exactly when cameras were first used at the scene of the incident or crime. What we do know is that the service came into regular use after 1920. The images are now on show on the Zurich city archive department’s website.
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.