NCJ Number
145879
Journal
EuroCriminology Volume: 5-6 Dated: (1993) Pages: 39-50
Date Published
1993
Length
16 pages
Annotation
The criminal justice system in Switzerland is considered to be complex because many different laws affect the handling of criminals, sanctions, and sentencing, and criminal statistics for 1989 are provided.
Abstract
Criminals do not enter Switzerland's criminal justice system directly, only by discovery and reporting to the police. After a criminal act is reported to the police, an office of investigation has to clarify legal elements of the offense. This office decides whether a person will be held in custody. If suspicious factors in the criminal act are confirmed, the individual is accused by the prosecutor; the court then determines whether the accusation is justified and the offender is guilty. In 1989, 67,100 sentences were handed down that involved 62,000 individuals, a yearly rate of 10 condemned persons per 1,000 inhabitants. Offenses involving road traffic law violations and property offenses constituted 73 percent of all criminal acts. Only 3 percent of sentences involved violent crimes. Judges imposed imprisonment, security measures, or fines for those found guilty. In 88 percent of all imprisonment sentences in 1989, sentences were less than 1 year. Security measures were imposed in only a few cases for habitual criminals, mentally abnormal offenders, or drug addicts. Switzerland has about 160 penal institutions where sentences are executed. Most are local institutions for the execution of imprisonment sentences of up to 6 months. The country has 27 penal institutions for longer imprisonment sentences. Of 11,700 persons committed to penal institutions in 1989, 75 percent were placed in local institutions. Swiss penal institutions housed approximately 1,450 persons as of March 1989. The rate of criminality was highest among individuals between 21 and 22 years of age, and the inmate population was 95 percent male. 16 tables