Number of serious assaults in Switzerland higher than ever before: Report

By Timo Kirez

GENEVA (AA) - Serious assaults, rape, theft and digital crime increased in Switzerland in 2022, the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) said in a report on Monday.

Some 1,942 serious violent crimes were registered by the police in 2022, an increase of 16.6% and the highest number since the statistics were introduced in 2009, it noted.

The number of rapes rose by 14.5% to 867 cases, while 762 aggravated assaults were registered, up 17.2% from the previous year, the office said.

Juvenile crimes dropped by 3.1%, and the number of burglaries increased by 14.6% last year, reaching a level similar to the one before the coronavirus pandemic, the FSO added.

According to the report, other forms of theft also increased -- 20.6% more pickpockets and 17.4% more thefts from cars than in 2021.

A total of 46,385 vehicles were reported stolen in Switzerland in 2022, increasing by 15.9% compared to the previous year, it said.

Last year, "33,345 crimes with a so-called digital component were registered, an increase of 9.9%," the FSO said. The majority of these were cyber-economic crimes, while the cases of so-called phishing have particularly increased, with a rise of 84.8%.

The most frequent rise was in "cases of goods paid for on classified ad platforms that are not delivered, or the misuse of online payment systems or another's identity for fraudulent purposes," the FSO also said.

The report noted that 86,693 people had been registered with the police for violations of the criminal code. Of these, 12.2% were minors, 15.4% young adults aged 18-24, and 72.4% were older than 24.

The number of minors decreased by 3.1% compared to the previous year, while the number of young adults increased by 2.1%.