The Swiss voice in the world since 1935
Top stories
Stay in touch with Switzerland

Crimes committed by minors increase in Ticino

Increase in offences committed by minors in Ticino
Increase in offences committed by minors in Ticino Keystone-SDA

The number of offences committed by minors in canton Ticino, southern Switzerland, rose by over 20% in 2024 compared to the previous year. Pornography offences have also increased.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

A total of 362 offences committed by minors were recorded in the Italian-speaking canton, the Ticino cantonal police said on Monday. This is almost 24% more than in the previous year.

More investigations were also opened last year, namely 486 compared to 478 in the previous year. In a further 227 cases, no criminally relevant elements were identified, the cantonal police added.

The offences committed included attempted intentional homicides, fights, assaults, and violence or threats against authorities and officials. There was also an increase in thefts, robberies, grievous bodily harm, sexual harassment and wilful arson committed by minors.

+ What questions do you have about crime in Switzerland?

Hunt for suspected paedophiles

According to the press release, the investigation in connection with the so-called “punishment operations” was particularly challenging in 2024. The groups, most of whom were minors, attacked men they believed to be paedophiles and took the law into their own hands.

The investigations, which lasted several months, led to the identification and arrest of around 30 young people in October and November.

The number of pornography offences has also risen in Ticino. Last year, this totalled 84 compared to 66 cases in the previous year. Of these, 60 cases resulted from national and international internet surveillance.

More

Translated from German by DeepL/ts

How we work

We select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate them into English. A journalist then briefly reviews the translation for clarity and accuracy before publication. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles. The news stories we select have been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team.

Did you find this explanation helpful? Please fill out the short survey on this page to help us understand your needs.

Popular Stories

News

E-cars account for 10.5 per cent of new registrations in the canton of Zug

More

E-cars account for 10.5% of new registrations in the canton of Zug

This content was published on Nowhere else in Switzerland are electric cars as popular as in Zug. Currently, 10.5 per cent of cars registered in the canton of Zug are purely electric, as new data from the online platform Energie Reporter and Energie Schweiz and Geoimpact show.

Read more: E-cars account for 10.5% of new registrations in the canton of Zug
ETH climate researcher honoured with the German Environmental Award

More

ETH climate researcher honoured with the German Environmental Award

This content was published on Swiss climate researcher Sonia Isabelle Seneviratne from ETH Zurich receives the German Environmental Award 2025. She shares the prize, endowed with 500,000 euros, with the management duo of the steel galvanising company Zinq.

Read more: ETH climate researcher honoured with the German Environmental Award
Police end attempted occupation of Zurich's Platzspitz square

More

Police end attempted occupation of Zurich’s Platzspitz square

This content was published on A large contingent of police prevented an attempted occupation of the Platzspitz area behind the National Museum in Zurich on Friday afternoon. They checked over 200 people and ordered them away. The group of occupiers cited anti-capitalist motives as the reason for the action.

Read more: Police end attempted occupation of Zurich’s Platzspitz square

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

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.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR