Almost 40% fewer fatalities
According to police crime statistics (PKS), an average of 49 persons per year were killed between 2009 and 2016, 38% fewer than during the period of the previous study (2000 to 2004). The number of victims of attempted homicides was 172 persons per year, 24% higher than in the period from 2000 to 2004.
The Federal Statistical Office (FSO), with the support of the Federal Office for Gender Equality (FOGE), has conducted a study on homicides registered by the police in Switzerland in recent years. It follows a special survey of the years 2000 to 2004, which was also supported by the EBG, and can thus trace the development of homicides over time.
Fewer homicides with firearms
Compared to 2000-2004, firearm use in homicides decreased significantly from 34% to 20% from 2009 to 2016. When firearms are used, victims have the lowest chance of survival.
The majority of the victims knew the suspected person
34% of the victims were in a kinship or couple relationship (domestic relationship) with the accused person, 26% knew the suspected person but had no domestic relationship with him/her (e.g. neighbor, work colleague), 27% did not know the suspected person. For the remaining victims, the information is not available (no information or no suspected person identified). Since at least 60% of the victims knew the suspected person (at least 75% in the case of completed offenses), the probability of being attacked by a person from the circle of acquaintances or relatives is greater than by an unknown person.
Domestic: 25 fatalities per year
On average, 25 victims of completed homicides and 50 victims of attempted homicides per year were in a domestic relationship with the person suspected of the crime. Compared to previous years, the number of completed and attempted domestic homicides has decreased. Most of the victims of homicides are women, and the offenses are predominantly committed by men. Victims and suspects are on average 40 and 41 years old, respectively. In the context of homicides committed by parents against their children, some very young victims are also counted.
Non-domestic: 19 fatalities per year
Per year, 19 persons were victims of a completed homicide and 98 persons were victims of an attempted homicide by a person known to them but not in a domestic relationship with them, or by a person unknown to them. Compared with the years 2000 to 2004, the average number of homicides has thus increased slightly, while the number of fatalities has decreased. In the non-domestic sector, the majority of victims and suspects are men. The suspects are on average younger (30 years) than their victims (35 years).
Suspects who did not know their victim are more likely to be known to police
The closer the victim and the person suspected of committing a homicide are to each other, the less likely it is that the latter is already known to the police. 39% of the suspects of homicides against an unknown person had already been registered by the police for an offense against the Criminal Code in the two years preceding the crime. In the domestic sphere, this proportion is only 21%. For homicides within a former or existing partnership, only one in ten couples had already been registered with the police for domestic violence.
Source: Federal Statistical Office
Further statistical data here.
