Convictions of juveniles

The annual figures for juvenile convictions. Detailed information is available on the laws and the individual offences.

The statistics JUSUS, the production of which was discontinued in 2019 after 21 years, has been replaced by the Statistics on criminal convictions and enforcement of juvenile sanctions (JUSAS) – a more complete and modern database. This is the reason why the tables relating to the convictions of minors on our website have been divided into two periods. The JUSUS data are presented in tables covering the years 1999 – 2019. Table with JUSAS data start in 2020. Only figures of the Penal Code and the Narcotics Act are comparable in these two time series.

Statistical retrospective of convictions of minors from 1999 to 2019
To close the JUSUS statistics and offer an overview of the evolution and structure of juvenile criminal judgments pronounced between 1999 and 2019, the FSO publishes a retrospective of juvenile delinquency in which more than 40 charts are realized and commented, allowing a visualization of the information available in the JUSUS statistics the last 21 years.

Publication to be downloaded in German or in French

Judgments of juveniles, 2021

Total	20 902
SCC	8 580
Homicide	10
Grievous bodily harm	63
Simple theft	3 219
Robbery	432
RTA	4 458
Simple violation of the traffic regulations	2 247
Serious violation of road traffic regulations	142
Certified serious violation of road traffic regulations	9
Driving while incapacitated	256
NarcA	3 541
APT	4 455

Source: Statistics on criminal convictions and enforcement of juvenile sanctions (JUSAS), state of the database: 31.05.2022

SCC: Swiss Criminal Code
RTA: Road Traffic Act
NarcA: Narcotics Act
APT: Act on passenger transport

Convictions and other types of conflict resolution

Not all penal conflicts are resolved by the pronouncement of a protective measure or a sentence. In order to take into account the different resolution methods provided for by the law, the new JUSAS statistics consider not only judgments providing for a sanction, but also conciliations and reparations, as well as mediations.

Convictions and other types of conflict resolution, 2021

Total	21 509
Conviction	20 516
Exemption from punishment without measure	390
Resolution and redress	317
Mediation	290

Source: Statistics on criminal convictions and enforcement of juvenile sanctions (JUSAS), state of the database: 31.05.2022

Further information

Tables

Tables on total of convictions

Tables on convictions under Swiss Criminal Code

Tables on convictions under Road Traffic Act

Tables on convictions under Narcotics Act

Table on convictions under other laws

All tables on the topic Criminal justice

Graphs

All graphics on the topic Criminal justice

Publications

Publication to be downloaded in German

Publication to be downloaded in French

All publications on the topic Criminal justice

Press Releases

Historical data

Historical data on minors and adults 1946-1984

The Federal Statistical Office's collection of data on the convictions of minors and adults is based on extracts from the centrally managed register of convictions. This statistic has been compiled since 1946, and partially with data from 1936. For the years prior to 1948, statistical results are available in the form of tables, copies of which can be consulted or downloaded.

The continuation of the historical time series for minors can be found for the years 1984-1998 under "Historical data, minors, 1984-1998".

Detailed data on the convictions of minors from 1999 onwards are available on the Swiss Statistics website. Detailed conviction figures for adults are available for the years from 1984 onwards.

The historical conviction data cannot be compared with one another nor with data from the current data collection. Data must first be harmonised and aligned with population data.

Publication to be downloaded in German

Publication to be downloaded in French

Statistics of criminality in Switzerland in German / French

Historical data on minors 1985-1998

The information published by the Federal Statistical Office on the criminal judgements of minors is based on three statistical surveys, each one different in the way it collects and compiles data and also in how data is used and presented. Data from the first survey is contained in tables relating to criminal judgements of minors and adults passed between 1946 (partly from 1936) and 1984.

These tables were compiled on the basis of records in the criminal register. Since 1971, criminal judgements of minors have no longer been automatically recorded in the criminal register; the decision was made to discontinue this first survey. The second survey consists of aggregated data collected between 1984 and 1998. The third comes from data used in the current statistics on criminal judgements of minors. This survey has existed since 1999 and is now published with the adult convictions.

The data on the criminal judgements of minors shown below cannot be compared directly with data from the other surveys. Data must first be harmonised (see document on metadata) and then correlated with data from the corresponding age groups.
 
The publication on the evolution of the juvenile delinquency and pdf files are available in german or in french:

Publication to be downloaded in German

Publication to be downloaded in French

Criminal conviction of minors in German / French

Statistical sources and concepts

Surveys