Convictions of adults declined by 11% in 2020 in Switzerland, according to figures released by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office. This is the steepest decline in many years.
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In 2020 around 95 000 adult convictions were registered in the conviction register. This corresponds to a drop of 11% compared with the 2019 year. The greatest decline was seen for convictions under the Foreign National and Integration Act (-17%). Among the sentences imposed, a particularly marked reduction was observed in custodial sentences with a duration of more than two years (-27%).
Of the roughly 87,000 convictions for felonies and misdemeanours in 2020, the majority related to road offenses (55%), followed by crimes under the Swiss Criminal Code (35%), crimes that include violent crime, theft, fraud and damage to the state and property. A further 13% of convictions related to immigration and 5% to drug offences. 8% of the total were violent crimes.
The biggest drops in convictions were road and immigration offenses. These fell by 7,200 and 2,800, making up 81% of the total drop. These declines probably partly reflect lower mobility related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Federal Statistical Office report (in French) – Take a 5 minute French test now
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