Police chief: Switzerland is ‘too attractive’ for organised crime

Switzerland needs to act because it is too appealing as a destination for organised criminals, according to the director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol)

Nicoletta della Valle is the director of the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Organised crime is in full swing at European level and European countries are urging Switzerland to take swift action on that front.

“Our colleagues in the Netherlands and Belgium are telling us not to wait,” says Fedpol Director Nicoletta della Valle in the French-language weekly Le Matin Dimanche. “They feel that they themselves did not fight early enough and that Switzerland must act now.”

The Alpine nation is attractive to criminal networks in many areas, according to the lawyer. Not just as a place to hide out, but also as a hub for drug, arms and even human trafficking, as well as for burglaries and ATM attacks.

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Communication is key

Even if it is still fairly discreet, organised crime is too comfortable in Switzerland, she stresses. To reverse this trend, communication – particularly the exchange of information between the federal and cantonal level  –  needs to be improved. Current knowledge of organised crime in the country may only show the tip of the iceberg.

“Just because we haven’t yet identified a ‘Ndrangheta cell in a region, for example, doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” says the Fedpol chief referencing the Italian organised crime syndicate based in Calabria. 

Resources made available by politicians to address the problem are one constraint on current law enforcement efforts.

“All the country’s police forces have to prioritise investigations according to the resources available,” she explains. “We must not delude ourselves, we must make choices.”

The police chief calls for greater efforts towards prevention through measures such as “deporting criminals or banning them from entering Switzerland”.