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Zurich police will no longer automatically name nationality of crime suspects

Police in the city of Zurich will no longer name the nationality of a suspected offender in press releases, arguing that to do so is discriminatory and inappropriate.

Published: 7 November 2017 11:46 CET
Zurich police will no longer automatically name nationality of crime suspects
Photo: NataliGlado/Depositphotos
City councillor Richard Wolff, head of the city’s security department, ordered the new measure, which is backed by centre and left-wing parties.
 
In a statement, the department said “the regular mention of nationality in police reports is discriminatory because it suggests that the offence can be explained by the nationality of the perpetrator”. 
 
Some media say it is important in the name of transparency to state a suspect’s nationality and not to do so is a cover-up, said the statement. 
 
However the security department disagrees. By mentioning nationality “it is suggested that the deed can be explained to some extent. But this only obscures what the root causes of criminal activity are,” it said, naming poverty, low education, stigmatization, drug use and other factors as the real cause of crime. 
 
“So nationality is a sham transparency that hides the causes of crime.”
 
The statement added that reporting nationality leads media consumers to think the number of crimes committed by foreigners is higher than it actually is, something which is an “undesirable effect”.
 
The security department interviewed editors of six Swiss newspapers prior to making a decision: three agreed and three disagreed with Wolff’s stance.
 
From now on Zurich police will not automatically name the nationality of suspects in media releases – with the exception of search appeals – though that information will be given out on request. 
 
This marks a return to Swiss police practices of some 20 years ago, before a suspect’s nationality was automatically given. 
 
The Local does not automatically name a suspect’s nationality but will do so if deemed relevant.
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CRIME

‘Your permit is invalid’: Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

Scores of foreign residents have received an email recently telling them their residency rights in Switzerland have been revoked.

Published: 26 April 2024 11:17 CEST
Updated: 2 May 2024 15:04 CEST
'Your permit is invalid': Foreigners in Switzerland warned to avoid new scam

A number of foreign nationals, especially in the German-speaking part of the country, have received an official-looking letter, purportedly from the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) informing them that the Free Movement of People agreement between Switzerland and the EU has been nullified, and therefore “your residence permit is no longer valid.”

Faced with enquiries from concerned recipients, SEM responded that the letter is fake, advising recipients to ignore it and, above all, not to click on the QR code on the top.

“Fake letters from the SEM have been circulating since the beginning of this week,” the immigration authority said on its website as well as on X (formerly Twitter).  

“The letter has no impact on the recipient’s  residence status,” SEM added.

Fake jobs, real threats

However, this is only the latest scam perpetrated in the name of SEM.

There have been others in the past.

For instance, many foreigners have also received emails from addresses swissimmigration@consultant or eu_immigration@consultant, that pretend to be the Swiss immigration authority.

“In most cases, a fictitious job in the hotel industry is offered, with the senders demanding payment of 300 to 1,000 euros for a permit in Switzerland and for health and accident insurance,” SEM reported.

The first clue that this email doesn’t come from  SEM, which is part of Switzerland’s government, is that it is asking for payment in euros. If the scammers were smarter, they’d demand Swiss francs.

“These e-mails do not come from the SEM and should be considered as an attempt at fraud,” the agency said. 

Extortion attempt

And a few years ago, a number of foreigners received emails coming allegedly from SEM, Swiss border control authorities, or even the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol).

They threatened to revoke the victim’s residence permit or even expel them from the country altogether if they didn’t pay a certain sum of money into an anonymous account.

Needless to say, no government authority would ever resort to blackmail or demand payment for such ‘services’.

So a good rule to remember (for foreigners and Swiss alike) is that if threats and pressure are involved, letters / emails / phone calls ( WhatsUp messages are more than likely scams.
 
READ ALSO: The common scams foreigners in Switzerland need to be aware of 

Don’t respond

SEM as well as police urge everyone contacted by scammers, by whatever means to:

  • Ignore these messages by hanging up the phone and / or deleting emails, moving them to the Spam folder
  • Never give out your credit card number or bank account information to people you don’t know
  • If you did give your card number, contact your credit card company immediately to have the card blocked. Likewise, if you gave out your banking details, get in touch with your bank.
  • In the event of threats of extortion attempts, consider filing a criminal complaint. You can search for police stations in your area on the Police website. 
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