Statistics published today show a significant drop in most types of crime in Switzerland.
Between 2009 and 2017, the number of break ins fell by 36%, steeper than the fall in the number of vehicle thefts, which declined by 26%.
In 2009, there were 64,268 break ins, compared to 41,351 in 2017, while vehicle thefts numbered 56,793 in 2009 and 41,903 in 2017.
Break in remained more likely than vehicle theft because there are far fewer homes (3.7 million) than vehicles (6.1 million). The chance of a Swiss home being broken into was 1.1% in 2017, while the chance of your vehicle ending up in criminal hands that year was only 0.7%.
The number of violent crimes in Switzerland was 19% higher in 2009 than it was in 2017. In 2009, there were an average of 82 violent crimes a day. By 2017, the same figure was 69. The chance of being a victim of violence in Switzerland in 2017 was 0.3%, a rate of 300 per 100,000.
In 2017, Switzerland’s homicide rate was 2.9 per 100,000 (244 homicides), a far cry from the 55.8 per 100,000 in Baltimore, America’s most murderous city, according to USA Today. The only large cities in the United States with murder rates similar to Switzerland’s are San Diego (2.2), El Paso (2.8) Austin (3.1) and San Jose (3.1). US cities at the other end of the spectrum include Baltimore (55.8), New Orleans (40.4), Detroit (39.7), Memphis (30.6) and Indianapolis (23.3).
More on this:
Federal Statistical Office press release (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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