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Switzerland looks to tighten anti-terror laws

The Swiss federal government has launched a period of consultation on proposed new legislation that would toughen penalties for terrorists and those supporting terror organizations.

Published: 22 June 2017 11:34 CEST

Switzerland looks to tighten anti-terror laws

Justice minister Simonetta Sommaruga presented the measures in a press conference on Thursday. File photo: Thierry Charlier/AFP

In a statement on Thursday, the government said: “The police and justice authorities must be able to act more resolutely against acts likely to increase the risk of a terrorist attack.”

It therefore wants to adapt current laws to combat the recruitment and training of terrorists and ‘jihadi tourism’.

The measures will replace the current temporary ban on terror organizations including Al-Qaida and Islamic State with new, more specific, legislation making it a criminal offence to recruit people for a terror group, receive terrorist training or travel abroad for the purposes of terrorism.

The new measures – which will apply both to terror groups and individuals – will allow Switzerland to ratify the Council of Europe’s 2005 Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism and its 2015 additional protocol, which specifies the same.

The Swiss government wants to raise the maximum jail sentence for people who support or participate in terrorism from five years to ten years – or 20 years for those who run terror groups.

READ ALSO: Man arrested in Geneva suspected of being recruiter for terror groups

It also wants to make it easier for investigators to share information with other countries’ intelligence services.

The new measures, in consultation until October, will not contravene freedom of expression and religion, assured the government.

Further measures will be proposed later in the year, while the government also wants to establish an action plan for preventing terrorism by recommending ways to detect radicalization at an early stage.

According to intelligence figures up until this May 65 people have left Switzerland to join terror groups abroad, with an additional 23 unconfirmed cases, said news agencies.

Among those 23 are thought to have died and an estimated 14 have returned.

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Why are thefts increasing in Switzerland?

As reported earlier this week by The Local, new figures from the Federal Statistics Office show that Switzerland experienced an overall fourteen percent increase in crimes committed in 2023.

Theft is one crime that demonstrated an exceptionally sharp rise—thefts of goods from cars, for example, have risen by seventy-one percent.

However, before worrying about a crime wave, it’s essential to consider the role that two closely related factors may play in these figures.

The pandemic effect

In the years since the easing of lockdown restrictions, research institutions worldwide have been examining its effects on almost every facet of society, with crime no exception.

A 2021 study by the University of Cambridge and the University of Utrecht found that urban crime levels dropped by a third during lockdowns, including in Switzerland.

Like many other European nations, Switzerland’s pandemic response continued into mid-2022, when the last measures were ended. The country’s mountainous geography also made enforcing travel restrictions easier than in many other countries.

What is reflected in the new numbers is the return of ‘crime tourists’, criminal gangs from other countries such as Romania and Albania, who may see relatively affluent Switzerland and the frequent cross-border traffic as fruitful pickings.

As criminologist Dirk Baier told news portal Swissinfo.ch: “Switzerland is attractive. That means we have criminal tourists who come here from abroad just for this purpose.

“There is something to be gained here, there is wealth here and there is a somewhat inattentive population that, for example, does not lock its cars or sometimes leaves its apartment doors open.”

Baier also suggested that the relative ease that with which thefts can be committed plays a role:

“Certain crimes were discovered (…) that are easy to carry out, such as ‘sneak-in thefts’, opening the car door somewhere and taking something out.

“You can see that individual perpetrators can really commit such crimes on a large scale.”

Cost of living woes

While some have noted that the rising cost of living was not felt as keenly in Switzerland as the pandemic ended, the situation changed somewhat in 2023.

The ‘Pulse of Switzerland‘ study, published by Deloitte Consulting in early 2024, revealed that sixty percent of Swiss had cut back their spending and were eating out less, resulting in flow-on effects across several retail and hospitality sectors.

While the spike in unemployment caused by the pandemic was primarily reversed, the persistence of global inflation resulted in Swiss unemployment rising in early 2024.

It rose to two point four percent in February, with a projected rate of two point five percent in early 2025.

Traditionally, there is a strong association between inflation, unemployment, and crime. As the demand for cheaper stolen goods increases—particularly for electronics, jewellery, and handbags—so does the incentive for theft.

Again, it’s not unexpected that crime rates—particularly theft rates —would increase as inflation continues to worry consumers.

Still a safe place to be

The ‘perfect’ storm of a global pandemic shutting down society’s normal functioning for several months and the ensuing surge in inflation caused by the disruption have resulted in crime figures that may ring alarm bells.

However, it’s important to note that by almost all metrics, Switzerland remains one of the safest places to live in the world.

It maintains a place in Europe’s top ten safest countries, as identified by the Global Peace Index.

According to the Better Life Index, it is also a place where 86 percent of the population feels safe walking at night.

With a bit of attention paid to securing your valuables and not leaving them unattended in vehicles, you have no need to worry.

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