Once again fewer burglaries, but more fraud offenses
About 36,400 burglaries were recorded by the police in 2019 (-6.3% compared to 2018). Since the record year of 2012, crimes have decreased by slightly more than half. However, in the same period, according to the Federal Statistical Office, fraud crimes registered by the police have doubled to 17 606.
According to the 2019 crime statistics, the total number of criminal offenses recorded by the police decreased for violations of the Criminal Code (SCC) as well as for violations of the Narcotics Act (BetmG) and the Aliens and Integration Act (AIG)
(-0.2%, -0.7, -3.6% ).
An average of 100 burglaries per day
Switzerland-wide 36 419 burglaries and sneak-ins registered. This is less than in 2018 (-6.3%), and half as many as in 2012, when the highest figure since 2009 was recorded. The number of bicycle and e-bike thefts reported to the police increased by 1.5% compared to the previous year. In 2019, 33,040 total bicycles were stolen, less than in 2018 (-2.7%), but 4423 e-bikes, one and a half times more.
According to the 2019 crime statistics, 17,606 fraud crimes were registered with the police. This corresponds to an increase of 8% compared to the previous year. This is the highest value since the revision of the police crime statistics (PKS). Since 2009, the number of fraud crimes has more than doubled (+125%). This increase could be due to the growing prevalence of digital crime. The next publication of the statistics should provide more detailed findings on this.
Stable figures for completed homicides
In 2019, 46 completed homicides were recorded by the police. Since the 2009 revision of the PKS, an average of 25 completed homicides in the domestic sphere have been recorded per year; in 2019, there were 29. 14 of these 29 fatalities involved women who died as a result of domestic violence within a partnership, and 9 involved children who were killed by a parent. For the latter category, the average is 4 police-recorded homicides per year, with wide year-to-year variation (from 0 in 2017 to 9 in 2019).
Serious violent crimes accounted for a total of 3.4% (1531 crimes) of all violent crimes in 2019 (2018: 3.3% or 1425 crimes). The majority of these relate to aggravated assault (637) and rape (679). The total number of all violent crimes per 1000 inhabitants increased from 5.2‰ in 2018 to 5.3‰ in 2019.
Increase in the number of defendants from the permanent resident population
If we look at the nationality of the persons registered with the police according to the Criminal Code, the number of accused persons has increased both among Swiss nationals (+3.4% to 39,904 accused persons) and among foreign persons from the permanent resident population (+2.8% to 25,859 accused persons). On the other hand, the number of defendants from the asylum sector (3163, -12.3%) and those from the non-permanent resident population (12 783, -1.6%) decreased.
Source: Federal Statistical Office
Click here for the detailed annual report of the Crime statistics 2019
Here it goes to the Crime statistics 2018
Digital crime
In 2019, a comprehensive scheme was developed for identifying and recording digital crime in the PKS. The corresponding data is regularly checked and validated by the cantonal police authorities. However, it will not be possible to consolidate the data collection and ensure a uniform quality of the results throughout Switzerland until the end of the year, according to the Federal Statistical Office. According to a corresponding cooperation agreement with the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD), the results have yet to be validated by the strategic federal and cantonal authorities. The first publication on the topic is therefore planned for 2021, as the Federal Statistical Office writes.
