Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga said the aim was to re-establish confidence in the penal system and to take into account widespread demands for fair justice and punishment.
“Most people did not understand the system of suspended fines,” she told a news conference on Wednesday.
Introduced in 2007 to replace prison sentences of up to six months, suspended fines soon came in for public criticism particularly in cases of speeding drivers.
The bill, to be discussed by parliament, foresees the use of electronic bracelets or community work for offenders.
Michael Leupold, head of the Federal Justice Office, said the more frequent usage of these two options could help prevent further overcrowding of prisons.
The reform also seeks to re-introduce the right for courts to order the expulsion of criminal foreigners once they have served their jail terms.
The current system leaves the decision to expel certain categories of non-Swiss criminals to police authorities.
In 2010, Swiss voters approved a rightwing initiative for the automatic expulsion of any foreigner convicted of a crime, regardless of the misdeed. However, implementation of the initiative is still pending amid disagreement between the rightwingers and the government.
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Cabinet pursues plans to reform criminal code
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The justice ministry said it had been mandated to finalise plans for parliament by next March. The system of suspended fines was only introduced in 2007 but has been widely criticised. “To be effective and credible, criminal law must be accepted by the population which must have belief in the effectiveness of sanctions,” a statement…
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According to the Federal Statistics Office, cases of theft increased nationally by 16 per cent. However, despite the overall rise in crime in 2011, the number of minors charged with criminal offences was down by 21 per cent, while violent crime dropped by seven per cent and sex crimes were down by three per cent.…
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Legal experts have cautioned against a new radical overhaul of measures which only took effect less than 30 months ago. Wednesday’s debate ended with a victory for the supporters of a tougher penal system, particularly among the rightwing Swiss People’s Party as well as the centre-right Christian Democrats. The House voted to tighten sanctions against…
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The photographer Peter Schulthess spent a year visiting 28 jails across the country for his book “Behind bars – prisons and detention centres in Switzerland” (2006).
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.