More police sought against foreign gangs

Switzerland needs 1,500 more police officers to deal with foreign gangs and rising cases of burglaries and thefts, according to the working group of the conference for cantonal justice and police ministers.

Published: 18 November 2012 18:05 CET

More police sought against foreign gangs

Photo: Valais cantonal police

“Bands from abroad target Switzerland for burglaries and thefts,” Beat Villiger, conference vice-president and cantonal minister for Zug, told SonntagsBlick in an interview that appeared on Sunday.

“The professionalization of criminals in the areas of pickpocketing, tricks and skimming (from bank teller machines using duplicate credit card readers and wireless cameras) is rising,” said Villiger, 55.

He is also seeking increased video surveillance in trains and special prisons for failed asylum seekers.

“In trains and stations that are secured with cameras less happens and the police and can respond and verify offences better.”

Villiger said asylum seekers “who would have to leave the country” should not be brought into contact with criminals, but this would require a new prison.

“In the area of central and north-western Switzerland around 250 places are lacking for administrative detention, that is for failed asylum seekers and illegal aliens.”

He estimated the cost of such a prison at 50 million francs but noted that this could relieve the prison populations of a dozen cantons.

The working group of the conference for cantonal justice and police ministers says Switzerland needs more police officers to meet the security needs of a 24/7 society, the ATS news service reported.

That means police officers are needed permanently around the clock, the group concluded.

“The population never ceases to grow and there are more cars in the streets and an intense activity in the cities on weekends between 2 and 6am,” Villiger added.

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A Swiss appeals court confirmed Monday the acquittal of six police officers over the death of a Nigerian man, in a case that drew comparisons to George Floyd’s killing in the United States.

As with the lower court verdict a year ago acquitting the officers of negligent homicide in the case of Mike Ben Peter, Monday’s ruling sparked immediate protests and chants of “Shame!” outside the courthouse.

Around 80 people crowded outside the court, shouting: “Black lives matter!”, “Justice for Mike”, and “Police kill, the judiciary acquits!”

The 39-year-old Nigerian died following a violent arrest after he refused a police drug search in Lausanne in western Switzerland in early 2018.

In the encounter with the six police officers, he was pinned to the ground on his stomach. He died in hospital a few hours later after suffering a heart attack.

His death initially received little attention, but the global outcry over Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020 placed a bigger spotlight on the Swiss case.

During the first trial in June last year, a court in Lausanne ruled that the six officers involved in the incident could not be found guilty of negligent homicide.

The public prosecutor’s office also decided to drop the charges, referring in particular to forensic analyses that were unable to state with certainty that Ben Peter died due to the police intervention.

After three days of hearings last week at the appeals court in Renens, near Lausanne, the three judges confirmed the lower court ruling, acquitting the officers of negligent homicide.

They also acquitted them on an additional charge of abusing their authority, brought by the lawyer of Ben Peter’s family, Simon Ntah.

As with during the first trial, the judges relied heavily on forensic expert testimony to reach their conclusion.

The experts testified that it was impossible to say for certain that Ben Peter died due to the police intervention.