Fewer Swiss criminal convictions probably thanks to pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic is suspected of getting played a task during a significant drop by criminal convictions in Switzerland last year.

There were 11% fewer convictions (95,000) in 2020 than within the previous year, consistent with official statistics published on Monday. the autumn was particularly pronounced among foreigners who were denied access to Switzerland for giant parts of 2020.

Sentences of a minimum of two years fell by 27%, but this may need had something to try to to with the pandemic disrupting the court system, the Federal Statistical Office said.

“The current statistics don't yet provide a conclusive picture,” it stated on MondayExternal link. “Whether there really were fewer criminal offences or whether there was only a backlog in handling criminal proceedings can only be assessed once all the offences from 2020 are addressed . this may take a minimum of another one to 2 years.”

Fewer convictions of foreigners

There does appear to be a correlation between Covid-19 and therefore the overall drop by traffic offences, the statistical office said. The 15% fall in drink-driving convictions could reasonably be attributed to lockdowns that both restricted domestic travel and closed bars and restaurants. But a small uptick in speeding convictions might be the results of people using their cars more often to avoid conveyance .

It also seems likely that closed borders with other countries resulted in far fewer foreigners being convicted in Switzerland.

There were far fewer convictions for foreigners without a residency permit (-12% under the overall criminal code and -21% for both traffic and narcotics violations). For Swiss nationals or holders of a residency permit these numbers fell by 3%, 9% and eight respectively.

Convictions led to 1,841 people being expelled from Switzerland last year, actually because they didn't have a residency permit. That was a decline of 12% from 2019.