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Conviction statistics for adults 2014 First evaluation of convicted persons by nationality

Remark: The term “South-West Africa” is a purely statistical and not a political category. It does not refer to the former name of Namibia in any way.

Neuchâtel, 20.09.2016 (FSO) - The Federal Statistical Office (FSO) is publishing figures on the nationality of convicted persons for the first time. A distinction is made here between persons residing in Switzerland in the long-term (Swiss and foreign nationals with a B or C permit) and other categories of foreign nationals. A methodology report highlighting the possibilities and limitations of comparing crimes by nationality is also being released at the same time.

For optimum clarity, the FSO is publishing the results and methodology report at the same time. The latter describes data quality assessments as well as quality assurance measures. An important measure was the grouping together of countries such as the former Yugoslavia or regions such as West Africa because persons convicted several times from the same region were often registered with different nationalities in the Swiss central register of criminal convictions (see box with methodological clarifications for information on change of nationality).

Comparability of results by nationality

A comparison of the number of convicted persons by nationality is only possible to a limited extent. In absolute figures, Swiss nationals and persons from European countries account for the main share of convicted persons as they also make up the majority of persons residing in Switzerland. The figures on convicted persons by nationality can only be compared if one knows the size of each national group in Switzerland. This is known for the resident population. Conviction rates can be calculated on this basis. These show how many persons per 1000 inhabitants with the same nationality have been convicted and recorded in the register of criminal convictions. The size of the national group therefore is no longer of any importance once the conviction rates have been calculated (see box with methodological clarifications). When comparing criminality, the calculation of conviction rates is standard practice internationally.

Convicted Swiss and foreign nationals with a B or C permit

Nationality data are listed in two tables. The first table shows data on Swiss nationals and persons with a B or C permit in absolute figures and in the form of conviction rates. The calculation of conviction rates is only possible for Swiss nationals and persons with a B or C permit. All other groups of the resident population show too many fluctuations over the calendar year to allow precise conviction rates (see box with methodological clarifications for information on fluctuations). For conviction rates, it should be considered that the influence of one individual convicted person is very significant among nationalities with very few long-term Swiss residents. For example, if among the Danish the conviction rate increases by 0.3% for every further convicted person, for Monacans resident in Switzerland every further conviction would mean a 50% increase. This influence is shown in the table. The conviction statistics include information about age and gender. These two variables have a considerable influence on the likelihood of committing a crime. As the national groups of persons do not have the same composition in terms of gender and age, the results for men and women are shown separately by age group. The results show the different conviction rates for the individual nationalities. However, this does not prove that there is a causal relationship between nationality and delinquent behaviour. Many factors such as the standard of living or educational level that influence the behaviour of persons cannot be determined from the conviction statistics and are not considered in the analyses.

Other convicted foreign nationals

The second table groups together all foreign persons who hold neither a B nor a C permit in the "other foreigners" category. In addition to persons with an asylum background and holders of a short-term residence permit, this group also includes persons residing in Switzerland either as tourists or illegally. This table contains only absolute figures as the calculation of conviction rates is not possible. The absolute figures are shown separately for every nationality by gender and age.

Missing values for permit status

For some nationalities, the share of missing permit status data, however, was very high. As the persons in these cases may hold a B/C permit or form part of the category of other foreign nationals, values have been calculated and shown for both possibilities. This means that these cases have been counted once among foreign nationals with a B or C permit and once among other foreign nationals. This thus gives the minimum and maximum values for both the absolute figures as well as persons with a B or C permit in the case of conviction rates (see box with methodological clarifications for missing values).


 

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Condamnations des adultes 2014


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femme homme genre

 

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