Accused rate by selected offences

This indicator shows the share of the accused resident population recorded by the police for common assault and theft under the Swiss Criminal Code.

From an integration perspective, a decrease in the accused rate by selected offences indicates an improved situation.

Please note: The results should be interpreted with caution as no socio-economic data apart from sex and age is available in the police crime statistics (PCS). This would be important for an in-depth analysis.

In order to compare a group that is relevant from a criminological point of view, the indicator shown here focuses on men aged 18 to 34 who live permanently in Switzerland.

Main results

Whatever the type of offences selected, citizens of EU-28 and EFTA countries still show accused rates among men aged 18 to 34 similar to those of Swiss citizens. On the other hand, citizens from other European countries and from the rest of the world stand out with the highest rates in all selected offences.

Trends over time

Regardless of the type of offence selected, the accused rates have decreased in all nationality groups.

An accused person is anyone who is suspected, accused or charged by a penal authority with an offence in a report to the police, in a penal complaint or in a procedural act. However, it should be borne in mind that an accused person is presumed innocent until judgment is passed.

The offences selected for this indicator are:

- common assault (as defined under Art. 123 SCC): any person who wilfully causes injury to the persons or the health of another in any other way;

- theft (as defined under Art. 139 SCC): any person who for his own or for another's unlawful gain, appropriates moveable property belonging to another person with the object of permanently depriving the owner of it.

When interpreting the data, it should be kept in mind that the police crime statistics (PCS) only includes offences of which it has knowledge. The PCS does not contain statistics on “hidden figures”, i.e. crimes of which the police has no knowledge.

For this reason, the accused rate cannot reflect the actual crime rate but the crime rate calculated, for various groups, based on police reports.

The accused rate represents the number of accused men aged 18 to 34 identified for each of the offences selected during 5 years, calculated per 1,000 inhabitants in the average permanent resident population excluding persons in the asylum process who have been in Switzerland for at least one year (population's arithmetic mean over 5 years): these represent the population most likely to have deviant behaviour with regards to the law.

In contrast to the Population and Household Statistics (STATPOP), persons in the asylum process who have been in Switzerland for at least one year cannot be considered as part of the resident population in the police crime statistics (PCS) because the length of stay is unknown.

Accused persons

Police crime statistics

Population and Households Statistics