Crime in Switzerland is combated mainly by cantonal police. The Federal Office of Police investigates organised crime, money laundering and terrorism.
Crime statistics Switzerland maintains a relatively low crime rate compared to other countries. However challenges remain, particularly in drug trafficking, organized crime, money laundering and specific violent offenses.
In Switzerland, police registered a total of 432,000 offenses under the Criminal Code in 2019 (−0.2% compared with previous year), of which 110,140 or 25.5 percent were cases of thefts (excluding vehicles, −2.0%), and 41,944 or 9.7 percent were thefts of vehicles (including bicycles, −10.1%), 46 were killings and 161 were attempted murders. The number of cases of rape reported increased by 53 incidents or 8.5 percent over the previous year. The number of criminal pornography offenses increased by 56.1 percent to 2,837. Offenses against the Narcotics Act decreased by 0.7 percent to 75,757.
In 2014, 110,124 adults were convicted, of which 55,240 (50%) were convicted according to traffic regulation offences, 6,540 (+1.6%) for trafficking in narcotic substances, and 17,882 (−7.2%) for offenses against the Federal Act on Foreign Nationals. 83,014 or 83.4% of adult convicted people are male, and 42,289 or 42.5 percent of them Swiss citizens. In the same year, 11,484 minors (78 percent of them male, 68 percent of them of Swiss nationality, 64.2 percent aged either 16 or 17) were convicted.
Convictions for infliction of bodily harm have steadily increased throughout the 1990s and 2000s, with 23 convictions for serious injury and 831 for light injury in 1990 as opposed to 78 and 2,342, respectively, in 2005. Convictions for rape have also slightly increased, fluctuating between 500 and 600 cases per year in the period 1985 to 1995, but between 600 and 700 cases in the period 2000 to 2005. Consistent with these trends, convictions for threats or violence directed against officials has consistently risen in the same period, from 348 in 1990 to 891 in 2003.Swiss Federal Statistics Office
Types of convictions The number of convicted persons is given in the following tables. Each class of crime references the relevant section of the Strafgesetzbuch (Criminal Code, abbreviated as StGB in German), or Betäubungsmittelgesetz (abbr. BetmG, Narcotics Act), or the Strassenverkehrsgesetz (abbr. SVG, Swiss Traffic Regulations).
Year Total convicted adults (StGB only) Homicide(Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB) Serious bodily injury(Art. 122 StGB) Minor bodily injury (Art. 123 StGB) Sexual contact with children (Art. 187 StGB) Rape(Art. 190 StGB) Theft(Art. 139 StGB) Robbery (Art. 140 StGB) Receiving stolen goods (Art. 160 StGB) Embezzlement (Art. 138 StGB) Fraud (Art. 146 StGB) Narcotics possession Major violation of traffic laws (Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG) Impaired driving (Art. 91 SVG) 2005 26,200 106 95 2,438 416 110 5,968 498 1,249 907 1,468 5,508 22,013 16,466 2006 26,428 116 108 2,553 389 134 5,892 574 1,184 863 1,512 5,419 21,725 20,900 2007 24,184 104 93 2,283 387 136 5,505 532 943 805 1,587 5,073 21,431 20,083 2008 26,025 102 134 2,622 408 133 5,732 537 914 840 1,641 5,349 25,184 20,376 2009 27,497 100 130 2,665 384 131 6,393 553 943 847 1,555 5,491 25,472 19,483 2010 28,603 96 152 2,690 331 134 6,669 611 911 783 1,746 6,104 25,960 20,421 2011 29,645 84 137 2,775 276 87 7,074 464 1,033 726 1,831 4,851 24,040 19,127 2012 34,270 117 188 2,902 298 110 9,026 534 1,347 756 1,994 5,795 23,248 18,662 2013 35,726 121 187 2,892 322 99 9,577 683 1,440 676 2,332 6,119 22,584 17,625 2014 34,335 123 235 2,768 318 109 8,557 584 1,154 694 2,253 6,384 24,838 17,327 2015 32,992 115 239 2,581 350 104 7,491 528 946 693 2,434 6,746 23,881 16,728 2016 32,378 91 206 2,471 294 86 7,028 408 804 693 2,294 6,354 22,473 16,720 2016 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal. Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.
Year Total convicted minors(StGB only) Homicide(Art. 111,112,113,116 StGB) Serious bodily injury(Art. 122 StGB) Minor bodily injury (Art. 123 StGB) Sexual contact with children (Art. 187 StGB) Rape(Art. 190 StGB) Theft(Art. 139 StGB) Robbery (Art. 140 StGB) Receiving stolen goods (Art. 160 StGB) Embezzlement (Art. 138 StGB) Fraud (Art. 146 StGB) Narcotics possession Major violation of traffic laws (Art. 90 Abs. 1&2 SVG) Impaired driving (Art. 91 SVG) 2005 7,580 7 10 634 73 14 3,528 375 400 34 65 918 124 180 2006 7,768 7 22 644 118 19 3,417 330 390 35 51 1,019 125 188 2007 6,912 7 21 701 102 20 2,190 285 285 21 47 680 117 141 2008 6,976 4 24 688 80 17 1,999 334 272 17 57 560 101 125 2009 6,930 7 24 664 73 5 2,031 366 315 19 57 600 142 105 2010 7,614 13 36 770 71 17 2,411 413 242 19 51 566 120 141 2011 5,428 2 31 551 65 5 1,589 259 155 10 49 507 138 152 2012 5,073 2 34 476 69 8 1,624 305 165 25 56 555 74 124 2013 5,193 4 31 408 75 22 1,664 324 171 26 90 691 72 95 2014 4,912 3 33 393 66 9 1,388 240 162 25 70 832 91 126 2015 4,518 4 28 342 89 5 1,387 196 146 17 73 972 127 105 2016 4,613 6 47 342 69 11 1,415 161 151 15 93 879 86 111 2016 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal. Due to privacy protection laws some convictions are not included.
Historic conviction rates The historic adult conviction rates are given in the following chart:Kriminalität, Strafvollzug – Daten, Indikatoren: Verurteile Personen: Jugendliche und Erwachsene accessed 27 October 2017
Year Total Adult Convictions Criminal Convictions Narcotics Convictions Traffic Convictions Total Male Swiss Total Male Swiss Total Male Swiss 1985 46,252 20,272 81.1% 66.8% 3,855 81.3% 69.9% 22,125 89.6% 74.5% 1990 52,030 19,810 80.2% 57.1% 4,176 81.8% 61.4% 28,044 88.5% 67.2% 1995 57,478 17,824 83.3% 55.0% 5,442 84.1% 53.7% 34,212 86.5% 63.3% 2000 68,654 20,614 85.2% 49.5% 6,798 70.7% 34.6% 41,242 85.0% 60.3% 2005 80,484 26,199 84.7% 49.7% 6,847 71.6% 33.3% 47,438 84.0% 55.5% 2006 85,477 26,583 84.8% 50.2% 6,792 70.1% 34.7% 52,102 83.7% 54.8% 2007 80,299 24,265 85.0% 51.3% 6,051 74.4% 35.3% 49,983 84.4% 53.9% 2008 88,147 26,327 84.5% 51.0% 6,240 77.2% 36.8% 55,580 83.5% 52.6% 2009 89,542 27,727 84.7% 48.5% 6,430 76.8% 34.8% 55,385 83.3% 52.4% 2010 93,187 28,691 84.0% 47.4% 7,006 78.7% 33.7% 57,490 83.0% 51.6% 2011 87,222 29,128 83.5% 44.9% 5,401 78.2% 32.6% 52,693 83.3% 50.6% 2012 95,702 33,925 83.8% 41.5% 6,562 80.0% 30.6% 55,215 82.0% 50.3% 2013 97,706 35,325 83.3% 40.3% 7,141 77.5% 28.9% 55,240 81.6% 48.8% 2014 98,582 32,911 82.6% 41.3% 7,392 76.2% 30.4% 58,279 80.4% 48.1% 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.
Age at conviction The age of the individuals at the time of their convictions is given in this chart: Year 18–19 20–24 25–29 30–34 35–39 40–44 45–49 50–59 60–69 70+ 1985 7.9% 26.8% 18.6% 13.6% 10.4% 7.7% 5.4% 6.4% 2.5% 0.7% 1990 6.6% 26.4% 20.7% 14.5% 9.9% 7.5% 5.4% 6.1% 2.2% 0.7% 1995 5.4% 21.4% 20.8% 15.5% 11.5% 8.6% 6.5% 7.1% 2.5% 0.8% 2000 6.5% 19.3% 17.1% 15.5% 12.5% 9.7% 7.2% 8.3% 3.1% 0.9% 2005 7.2% 20.7% 15.4% 13.5% 12.4% 10.5% 7.4% 8.8% 3.1% 1.0% 2006 7.4% 20.6% 15.0% 12.6% 12.0% 10.7% 7.9% 9.2% 3.6% 1.0% 2007 7.5% 20.5% 15.0% 12.2% 12.1% 10.6% 7.9% 9.6% 3.5% 1.2% 2008 6.9% 20.7% 15.3% 12.2% 11.5% 10.1% 8.2% 9.7% 3.9% 1.4% 2009 7.2% 21.0% 15.9% 12.4% 11.2% 10.1% 8.1% 9.0% 3.8% 1.4% 2010 7.1% 20.7% 16.1% 12.3% 11.1% 10.2% 8.0% 9.5% 3.7% 1.4% 2011 6.5% 20.8% 16.8% 12.7% 11.0% 9.5% 7.9% 9.2% 4.0% 1.4% 2012 6.2% 19.9% 17.0% 13.7% 10.7% 9.5% 7.8% 9.3% 4.2% 1.7% 2013 5.9% 18.8% 17.3% 13.9% 11.0% 9.6% 8.2% 9.8% 3.9% 1.6% 2014 5.4% 17.7% 16.6% 14.2% 11.4% 9.6% 8.6% 10.4% 4.4% 1.8% 2014 conviction numbers may not include convictions overturned on appeal.
Juvenile crimes
According to official statistics, there has been a total of 20,902 juvenile convictions in 2021 – 7.5 percent more than in 2020. According to a 2021 survey about juvenile crimes, 6.4 percent of respondents aged 14 and 15 admitted participating in a group fight. Shoplifting was the most common offence with 15 percent. Another 10.3 percent carried firearms, batons, large knives or other weapons. Acts of vandalism were committed by 9.4 percent. Five and a half percent trafficked or assisted in trafficking drugs. Burglary was admitted by 1.5 percent, 1.1 percent to vehicle theft. Five percent committed hate crimes; 2.9 percent sent unsolicited or unauthorised intimate pictures. Online fraud and hacking were each admitted by 2.7 percent. Assaults inflicting serious injuries were committed by 2.6 percent. Robbing others with a weapon, violence or serious threat was reported by 1.3 percent.
Incarceration In 2017, 6,863 people were incarcerated in Swiss prisons or pre-trial detention facilities, of which 49.3 percent were legal residents, 9.6 percent were asylum seekers and 41.1 percent were classified "other foreigners" (which includes cross-border workers, undocumented migrants, tourists, and foreigners with no fixed abode in Switzerland). Of the 6,863, 1,673 were undergoing rehabilitation; of these, 49 percent were foreigners with no fixed residence in Switzerland.
Crime by type
Suspected cases of embezzlement, tax fraud, money laundering and sexual harassment have been reported in 35 percent of companies in Switzerland. Under Swiss laws, a company can be held criminally liable for inadequate organisation or failing to take all reasonable measures to prevent a crime from happening.
Money laundering
Swiss banks have served as safe havens for the wealth of dictators, despots, mobsters, arms dealers, corrupt officials, and tax cheats of all kinds.
Money laundering is a criminal offence punishable by the criminal authorities (Art. 305bis of the Swiss Criminal Code). According to the Money Laundering Reporting Office Switzerland (MLROS) in 2017, official "suspicious activity reports" reached nearly 4,700 (worth $16.2 billion) up from 2,909 reported cases in 2016. Suspicious activity reports increased to 21,000 in 2025.
The Money Laundering Reporting Office is a federal body responsible for receiving and analysing suspicious activity reports in connection with money laundering, terrorist financing, and money of criminal origin, and forwarding them to the law enforcement agencies if necessary. As of 2025, MLROS has 55 investigators dedicated to the task of reviewing these reports.
In 1989, the Swiss justice minister had to step down, following allegation of money laundering by her husband. This was the largest case of drug-related money laundering to become public.
According to FINMA in 2023, 50 percent of Swiss banks had “largely unsatisfactory” anti-money laundering systems.
Loopholes
Swiss banks have a legal obligation to record the ultimate beneficial owners of all assets they handle worldwide, but doing so accurately can be tricky in jurisdictions where it is easy for third parties to mask who the owners are. Thus, loopholes exist through the use of shell companies, trust funds, and proxy directors signing the paperwork without owning the assets.
Under current rules, banking institutions and cantonal authorities can only report what's in their registers – looking into the origins of assets or connections between individuals is not permitted (2022). The authorities can access beneficial owner's data only when an investigation has been opened.
SFAO (Swiss Federal Audit Office) points to loopholes in the commodities sector, particularly the purchase of materials for smelting, which is partially excluded from the monitoring of raw materials origins. Control is limited to verification of the trade in already refined gold bars.
Sanctioned countries