Swiss canton vote to include nationalities in police reports
The result of the referendum on the prohibition of wearing an Islamic niqab or full-face veil in Switzerland, obscured an interesting piece of news about another federal plebiscite in this country which has gone almost completely unnoticed: The canton of Zurich voted on Sunday to state nationalities in police reports.
Published: March 11, 2021, 9:35 am
As reported in Swiss daily 20 Minutes, this vote was in fact a counter-proposal from the Swiss government to an initiative from the Swiss People’s Party (SVP) to include migration background.
The police in the canton have now been obliged to state the origin of the alleged perpetrators. Previously, this had been common practice in the German-speaking canton, which has a population of one and a half million, until a city council on the “Alternative List” banned the Zurich city police from doing so in 2017, following pressure from several left-wing parties.
The arguments of the supporters of the decision at the time and today’s opponents of the voting initiative were: The naming of nationalities stirs up racism and prejudice and divides society. The Zurich voters could not be convinced however, and instead they wanted clarity, transparency and information. After all, in Switzerland criminal suspects without a Swiss passport are clearly overrepresented in relation to their proportion of the population.
The majority of inmates in Swiss prisons are foreign nationals, according to official data. Of the 7 000 people imprisoned in Switzerland in January 2020, 70 percent were of foreign nationality.
More than 55 percent voted in favour of the proposal on Sunday according to the authorities. Only 44 percent approved the proposal by the Swiss People’s Party to include a mention of a possible immigration background, falling short of a necessary majority.
Zurich is the third of 26 Swiss cantons to introduce a special law over the past decade since cantons follow non-binding recommendations by the country’s police commanders approved in 2010 to mention the nationality of a suspect and victims as a rule besides their respective age. Exceptions are sometimes allowed for privacy reasons while information about a possible immigration background is only disclosed on request.
It is similar in Germany. In relation to serious violent and sexual crimes, foreigners are more often suspected of being the perpetrators than Germans. In most federal states, however, the nationality is not mentioned in the police reports. An investigation from the beginning of February showed: Only in Saxony and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is the nationality of suspects generally stated.
The negative consequences of the practice in the other federal states can be seen immediately after almost every publicly discussed crime: There is wild speculation on social networks as to where the alleged perpetrator comes from. “That was definitely a foreigner again,” most say, or: “Only Germans do that.” It is almost mandatory for journalists to ask the responsible police officer or to obtain the information somehow and eventually the origin of the suspect is made public.
This approach shows that there is a public interest in the nationality of suspects. The general mention of this information would also put an end to speculation. When criminologists speak of “pseudo-transparency” because there is usually no connection between the nationality of a suspect and his act, this may be true from a criminological point of view, but it does not change the desire of many Germans to know more than just the gender and age of a suspect. Also because the proportion of foreigners in Germany continues to grow.
However, in addition to nationality, another factor could be equally relevant. The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) in Zurich had tried (unsuccessfully) to make a possible migration background mandatory public knowledge through the police statement in addition to the nationality. “Only when you know the background are you in a position to correctly judge a situation”, SVP’s Zurich branch said on its website.
In Germany, the member of the Bundestag and former police chief commissioner Martin Hess (AfD) advocates precisely this. “Citizens across Germany must be informed about the nationality and migration background of suspects. This is the only way they can draw the right conclusions in the elections and force the politicians to make necessary changes to their course,” he urged, speaking to the Berlin weekly Junge Freiheit.
“Anyone who is against the naming of nationality in police reports only wants to cover up the fact that the policy of open borders makes our country much more insecure.” This contradicts the idea of the democratic public, he said.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
The Ursula von der Leyen Affair
After a criminal complaint in Belgium against the President of the European Commission, the so-called SMS-case, now takes a new turn. The judge responsible for the investigation will likely gain access to the secret messages exchanged between Ursula von der Leyen and Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, at least if they haven't been deleted.
Publisher of Unique Literature Worldwide Blocked by International Distributor
Arktos has distinguished itself by publishing groundbreaking philosophers and social critics. Now, the publisher's international distributor has abruptly terminated the cooperation, and more than 400 already printed titles cannot reach their audience. There is strong evidence that the distributor has been under pressure, something that has also happened in Sweden. We have spoken with Arktos founder Daniel Friberg about the ongoing struggle for freedom of speech in a shrinking cultural corridor.
Care prompts bishops to criticize transgender ideology
The Catholic bishops of the Scandinavian countries presented an open five-page letter criticizing transgender ideology on March 21, just before Easter. The document primarily expresses care and advice and was read aloud in Catholic churches in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and Iceland. Cardinal Anders Arborelius, Bishop of Stockholm, is one of the signatories of the document.