Enforcing law and order cannot be outsourced

Police deployed to ensure a demonstration in Bern does not get out of hand Keystone

A study published on Thursday has warned Switzerland's local authorities against handing over police powers to private security firms.

The conclusion supports calls by Swiss police to up the size of their forces, an increase they say is necessary due to mounting demands on law and order services.

The study, commissioned by the Swiss Police Officers’ Federation, said there were certain duties that by law could only be performed by policemen or women, such as body searches and arrests.

The exceptions to the rule are private or semi-private functions where security guards can be granted the authority to do searches. They can also be contracted as consultants advising clients, for example, on burglary protection.

The authors of the study reasoned that in a democratic state, it is the government that must guarantee the rights of its citizens and therefore is solely responsible for enforcing law and order.

One of the authors, Walter Kälin, professor of constitutional and international public law at Bern University, said there was still not a sufficient legal basis in many cantons for outsourcing police work.

Kälin said any law permitting private security firms to carry out police duties would have to clearly define the tasks that could be taken over and the accepted means of enforcement, as well as the minimum qualifications for security personnel.

He added that the public authorities and police were still better suited to safeguard essential services and supplies.

No privatisation

The police federation took advantage of the occasion to protest against what it sees as the “privatisation of internal security”, a trend towards outsourcing police duties to private firms.

Facing what is perceived as heightened insecurity, a number of towns have been considering private security patrols in some neighbourhoods.

The police argue that cantonal and communal police forces across the country have been the victim of budget cuts.

They claim officers have logged about one million hours of overtime to make up for staff shortfalls, even though they have had to ensure law and order at more and more political demonstrations and sporting events.

“The mad urge to save money has led to a stagnation in the size of our forces and in some cases to a reduction,” Jean-Pierre Monti of the federation told swissinfo.

“Currently, Switzerland does not have enough qualified policemen to fill the 1,600 vacant posts,” he added. “The number we need to train is greater than the number of officers who are retiring or leaving the force for other reasons.”

Monti said if more police were not trained immediately, Switzerland would not be able to provide sufficient security at the European Football Championships in 2008, which are begin co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

Maintaining law and order in the country is largely in the hands of the cantons.

While the number of crimes committed in Switzerland has stagnated, cases involving violence have risen sharply.

Swiss police have also been called up to provide security at an increasing number of public events.

In canton Bern alone, protests and demonstrations increased by 63% from 1999 to 2003, and sporting events held in the canton rose by 88% over the same period. There was a 40% rise in the number of times police were deployed to keep the peace.