If you call the cops they are your friends. If they just show up I would be critical.
Edit: there is of course some nuance to it. In general you can trust Swiss police to treat you fairly, but there is always some examples to the contrary.
We usually trust the government more.
This is a guide on how to deal with the police in the US. I happen to often get entangled into encounters with the police probably because of my skin color.
I was wondering how does the US police compare to the Swiss police? Should I apply the same advice mentioned in the post when dealing with cops in Switzerland?
Depends. if you are involved in traffic incidents you do better to shut up and get a lawyer immediately.
Don’t know. I’m not a criminal.
Cops are honestly quiet nice here as long as you don’t do big shit.
They are also really helpful and they are on the street to be approchable not to investigate.
I even had some funny encounters with them as i was living in a „bad neighbor hood”
Police in Switzerland also can’t lie about their investigation and reasons.
[deleted]
I think you’re worse off with the attorneys here….
it depends on the situation, I was once caught with some weed and I answered the questions that I know they’re allowed to ask (ID, address, social media, why I have it, if I deal etc) so there’s no need to call a lawyer unless I actually am a dealer or am in big trouble.
for traffic problems (I got a fine for Nichtbeherrschen des Fahrrads) it’s also probably best to do the same and not answer everything they ask (I got a bigger fine than I should have, IMO)
I’ve had a few accidents in my life, and I’ve always been upfront and answered all their questions, which led them to trust me and let me go off easy.
Remember, they’re human, and if you treat a human as you want to be treated, 99% of the time you’ll get the same back.
In the usa i would say yes that are good tips but in swirterland? Nope
No, not even remotely, at least in my experience. Every time I had anything to do with swiss police officers, they were very forthcoming and helpful.
they smoke weed with you in my town so I don’t think so
Short answer: No, it doesn’t. Not by very, very far.
Cops are required by law to read your Miranda rights. I saw it on TV.
Dear Michaelpolerman
I‘m a detective here in switzerland. And if something isn‘t true, it‘s that we can act like the police in the US. Lying to an accused person in an interrogation is illegal and goes under torture according to the Geneva Convention. Moreover, it is not purposeful. Of course we want to find put the truth. However, we are not interested to force someone to confess. Confessions under pressure are not usable. Normally we are friendly and treat you with respect, as long as you‘re doing the same. It‘s your right not to talk to us and contact a lawyer. I think, this wallpaper was made by someone who has been convicted of several crimes or a lawyer who urgently needs to get new clients. Here you can talk to us normally and we will do the same. Have a good day.
A friend’s apartment in Vaud was raided at dawn a few years ago by the police shortly after she resigned from her job because her abusive employer hadn’t paid salary in months (he was now suing her for publicly telling people he hadn’t been paying his employees). A sympathetic police woman admitted that they didn’t have any proper justification for the search, but that it had been ordered by a senior officer as a favour to my friend’s old boss. Yes, corruption exists in the police here, just as it does everywhere else.
It certainly isn’t bad advice to shut up and get a lawyer when being investigated. Depends on the circumstances tough, it can be better/more economical to be cooperative. You probably don’t need to hire a lawyer when they come for a noise complaint…
I once had a funny encounter with Cops in Zurich. Due to health reasons I tend to wear a Skimask in winter (my lungs have problems with cold air) and one day I was walking down the Bahnhof Strasse to buy some stuff. However due to all the shops and banks there, a guy with a ski mask looks…questionable. That and the mask law we have made it worse.
So I get stopped by two guys, they ask me to un mask, ask for my ID and what i’m doing. I explain the situation to them in a calm and friendly way. Then in tht instant my mom calls and I pick up my phone and talk to her. The cops asked who I was talking to and I said my “mami”. The looked at me like I grew a third head and then left me.
the Swiss citizen is a cop who ignores himself
We were once smoking some weed when 2 cops approached. 2 of my mates bolted off and left us behind.
The cops just said that my friends that ran off just made us more suspicious. We had a nice chat and that was it. No fine, nothing.
Some were fucking around with a shopping cart when they first came. Just told us not to break anything and we could continue. It was on august 1st.
Except for 2. – if you go to a demonstration or such, sure.
It doesn’t. There are stupid cops of course, like there are stupid people everywhere. But they are generally friendly, reliable and helpful. They put up with so much shit every day.
Yes
When I was a skinny girl and had long hair the police basically ignored me.
After I cut my hair very short and became muscled, I noticed police look at me more often and one day a police woman touched her gun when I looked at her. I wasn’t doing anything special, I was walking with my girlfriend in Basel SBB train station and I had a bit of a limp.
Once in Lisbon’s airport after the x-ray machine beeped a female cop refused to touch me and asked a male cop to do so. Instead of doing the touching, he just picked the bomb detector stick and rubbed on my belt.
These experiences basically opened my eyes. So I’m very cautious and respectful when I’m around them.
My experience is limited and tainted from experiences in my past, but I don’t trust the police in Switzerland. I find them quite rude and often a bit racist. (Again, my personal experience)
Once I had to call them as I was knocked over by a car, I had a picture of the vehicle (plate included) and asked them to follow up with the driver as I was injured. Their excuse “We can only deal with things when two people saw what happened otherwise we can’t be sure you’re telling the truth.”
In Ticino from 2017 to 2021 police was able to inflict a fine of 100.- if you were caught in possession of 10g or less of weed/hashish.
This was a regional law that went directly against a federal law, but they didn’t care to much. This would be discovered during 2021, with the police having already earned about 30’000.- for cannabis possession.
They’ve established that even if their fines didn’t have legal bases, they will not pay back the monet to people because all individuals should of recourse the decision bringing it to a tribunal.
This is just a big shameful scam by them over some futile weed.
I don’t think that most cantons grant the right to be assisted by a lawyer when questioned by police. I know it’s not the case in many EU countries, unless you are being accused of a crime. But if police asks you questions because they assume that you know information about an event, you need to answer truthfully and you don’t have the right to be assisted by anyone.
There are limitations on what can be done with that information, of course.
Yes.
If in doubt don’t talk to the police. There is nothing you can say to the police that you couldn’t say at a later time when you’re not rattled but what you say can’t be taken back.
Of course it does!
Pretty sure this poster is aimed at protestors (and in the US probably rights activists it looks like it’s from that era). It does apply to Switzerland – Swiss cops are not very used to protests and tend to be heavy handed.
Completely different in everyday life of course – cops on the streets are usually helpful and friendly.
No. I had quite a few encounters with the Police. I called them and also they just showed up doe to some Investigation in my block. As long as you’re friendly and cooperative it’s the same with them. Also my Lil brother is a hugh police fan and they were so nice to him😭 Even showed him the sirene and he got a Sticker. I’m pretty sure most of them are good ppl and I often feel sorry for them because of their reputation and their job. BUT there are of course some AH with a lil PP and think they are the big bad wolf in uniform….
Depends on the situation.
If you’re white and appear Swiss/European, you’ll be fine in most situations.
If you’re not, well let’s just say the UN just earlier this year rebuked Switzerland for racist police practices and racial profiling (again).
If you are at -or apparently even just happen to be near – a demonstration (with permit or not), this behaviour is very advisable (although i don’t know if 2 is accurate). You are required to tell them all the Info that’s in also on your ID + your adress but nothing else. And everything else can be used against you or others, even things that may seem mundane to you.
Also, they are required to show you their ID (Polizeiausweis) if you ask for it and to tell you the reason for arrest, where they are taking you etc. They also need proper justification to put hancuffs on you. You can request that someone of your own gender searches and (if they’re able to) they have to comply with that request. A Leibesvisitation (where you have tonget naked etc) is only permissible in rare circumstances for your own safety or that of others.
However, they might just pretend they don’t hear you, argue with you or ignore all of this and you can’t really do anything about it. That’s my experience at least.
Depends whether they question you as a witness or not. AFAIK it’s OK to talk to them as long as they question you as a witness, but when that’s not the case they could lead you to incriminate yourself through seemingly harmless questions. When in doubt, politely tell them that you would like to remain silent.
Cops aren’t allowed to lie in Switzerland, always record yourself when you talk to them.
Cops arent allowed to lie to you – they do it anyway. Usually they are friendly but they are NOT your friend. So just be nice and do the minimum you have to (identify yourself) and kindly disagree to anything else.
Yes, this also applies to Switzerland. There is a general obligation to show ID. Not for Swiss citizens, however, who are allowed to move freely within Switzerland without ID – with the risk that you will be taken to the police station to establish your identity. But more from the ID card requirement you do not have. Look, that you can be identified, but more also not. As for making statements: Yes, always always refuse to make a statement. From a legal point of view, refusing to make a statement is neither negative nor positive. The police want to make you believe that you will be in more trouble, but this is not true. Police officers are NOT allowed to lie in Switzerland, it is forbidden by law. But they do it anyway. But by law, police officers are forbidden to lie for the purpose of finding evidence.
The replies under this post are board downplay discrimination in Switzerland.
Nobody’s claiming we’re on some US-type level but I often experience a complete denial of any problems with the judiciary system especially in regards to racism.
Switzerland to this day acts as if it had nothing to do with colonialism, despite it was the last European country to stop its support for slavery and it still continues this act of negligence. In 2018 a man faced the same fate as George Floyd but unlike in the US, nobody, neither the media cared. It shouldn’t have been the last act of police brutality against minority groups but they rarely get any publicity. After a black man was shot last year, the UNHCR even paid an official visit this winter – again with minimal coverage and even backlash from authorities against the experts who visited.
My comment’s already stretched for too long so I’ll leave it at that I’m deeply ashamed for my compatriots’ ignorance.
Yeah from my experiences with the police here I’m keeping them at arms distance trust wise.
First time – They entered my apartment, pistols out, because I didn’t answer the door promptly at 1:30am. They didn’t call police out until in my flat, I still dread to think what would have happened if I had grabbed something to defend myself not knowing why someone had opened my door at 1:30am. Reason for them being there? Someone called in a noise complaint and they were checking every flat to find who it was. They saw “damage” on my door and thought someone had broken in. They warned me on my manners when I told them to get the fuck out of my flat.
Second time – My neighbour had an asshole of a husband. I heard a series of yelling that ended with her screaming, I called the cops because obviously worried about her and her kid. They turn up, suggest that she leaves and then **in front of the husband** knock on my door to tell me what’s going to happen after I called the police.
It was within a month that he showed up drunk at her workplace causing trouble and then she was allowed the equivelant of a restraining order, which could have been prevented already and I had to live next door to this asshole with him knowing I called the police on him.
I don’t care if it’s incompetence or malice in these cases… I think very heavily about my willingness to be open with them now.
Lol, Switzrland isn’t US.
I imagine it depends what it’s about.
I don’t think cops in most of Europe can lie to you. I’d be interested to know that. I’d also be interested to know the level of false confessions and wrongful convictions. (There goes the rest of my morning!)
Depends who talks to you. Stadtpolizei ZH ist notorious for being cocky and full of bs, hence I mostly refuse to say anything except for my personal Identifikation.
As a Racial mixed Swiss, it’s a hit or miss wuth the police. Birder control is usually cool, street cops are 50 50 for me. But in general if you approach them for something they are very kind. Much kinder than alot of other police forces in Europe…
Yes it does
if i remember correctly police can drag you in for questioning to be a ‘witness’ even if they already think you are the suspect. this way they cicumvent the need to provide a lawyer or something.
Well, in my small region, as happens in a lot of places in Switzerland, you know most of the people around town, including cops that often you even know from before they started their career.
Most of my interaction with police are quite informal and friendly, however if shit it’s the fan for whatever reason you NEED to shut the fuck up and call a lawyer as police will do their job, and you need to make sure your rights are respected. That’s just common sense; no ACAB shit or stuff like that by any means
46 comments
If you call the cops they are your friends. If they just show up I would be critical.
Edit: there is of course some nuance to it. In general you can trust Swiss police to treat you fairly, but there is always some examples to the contrary.
We usually trust the government more.
This is a guide on how to deal with the police in the US. I happen to often get entangled into encounters with the police probably because of my skin color.
I was wondering how does the US police compare to the Swiss police? Should I apply the same advice mentioned in the post when dealing with cops in Switzerland?
Depends. if you are involved in traffic incidents you do better to shut up and get a lawyer immediately.
Don’t know. I’m not a criminal.
Cops are honestly quiet nice here as long as you don’t do big shit.
They are also really helpful and they are on the street to be approchable not to investigate.
I even had some funny encounters with them as i was living in a „bad neighbor hood”
Police in Switzerland also can’t lie about their investigation and reasons.
[deleted]
I think you’re worse off with the attorneys here….
it depends on the situation, I was once caught with some weed and I answered the questions that I know they’re allowed to ask (ID, address, social media, why I have it, if I deal etc) so there’s no need to call a lawyer unless I actually am a dealer or am in big trouble.
for traffic problems (I got a fine for Nichtbeherrschen des Fahrrads) it’s also probably best to do the same and not answer everything they ask (I got a bigger fine than I should have, IMO)
I’ve had a few accidents in my life, and I’ve always been upfront and answered all their questions, which led them to trust me and let me go off easy.
Remember, they’re human, and if you treat a human as you want to be treated, 99% of the time you’ll get the same back.
In the usa i would say yes that are good tips but in swirterland? Nope
No, not even remotely, at least in my experience. Every time I had anything to do with swiss police officers, they were very forthcoming and helpful.
they smoke weed with you in my town so I don’t think so
Short answer: No, it doesn’t. Not by very, very far.
Cops are required by law to read your Miranda rights. I saw it on TV.
Dear Michaelpolerman
I‘m a detective here in switzerland. And if something isn‘t true, it‘s that we can act like the police in the US. Lying to an accused person in an interrogation is illegal and goes under torture according to the Geneva Convention. Moreover, it is not purposeful. Of course we want to find put the truth. However, we are not interested to force someone to confess. Confessions under pressure are not usable. Normally we are friendly and treat you with respect, as long as you‘re doing the same. It‘s your right not to talk to us and contact a lawyer. I think, this wallpaper was made by someone who has been convicted of several crimes or a lawyer who urgently needs to get new clients. Here you can talk to us normally and we will do the same. Have a good day.
A friend’s apartment in Vaud was raided at dawn a few years ago by the police shortly after she resigned from her job because her abusive employer hadn’t paid salary in months (he was now suing her for publicly telling people he hadn’t been paying his employees). A sympathetic police woman admitted that they didn’t have any proper justification for the search, but that it had been ordered by a senior officer as a favour to my friend’s old boss. Yes, corruption exists in the police here, just as it does everywhere else.
It certainly isn’t bad advice to shut up and get a lawyer when being investigated. Depends on the circumstances tough, it can be better/more economical to be cooperative. You probably don’t need to hire a lawyer when they come for a noise complaint…
I once had a funny encounter with Cops in Zurich. Due to health reasons I tend to wear a Skimask in winter (my lungs have problems with cold air) and one day I was walking down the Bahnhof Strasse to buy some stuff. However due to all the shops and banks there, a guy with a ski mask looks…questionable. That and the mask law we have made it worse.
So I get stopped by two guys, they ask me to un mask, ask for my ID and what i’m doing. I explain the situation to them in a calm and friendly way. Then in tht instant my mom calls and I pick up my phone and talk to her. The cops asked who I was talking to and I said my “mami”. The looked at me like I grew a third head and then left me.
the Swiss citizen is a cop who ignores himself
We were once smoking some weed when 2 cops approached. 2 of my mates bolted off and left us behind.
The cops just said that my friends that ran off just made us more suspicious. We had a nice chat and that was it. No fine, nothing.
Some were fucking around with a shopping cart when they first came. Just told us not to break anything and we could continue. It was on august 1st.
Except for 2. – if you go to a demonstration or such, sure.
It doesn’t. There are stupid cops of course, like there are stupid people everywhere. But they are generally friendly, reliable and helpful. They put up with so much shit every day.
Yes
When I was a skinny girl and had long hair the police basically ignored me.
After I cut my hair very short and became muscled, I noticed police look at me more often and one day a police woman touched her gun when I looked at her. I wasn’t doing anything special, I was walking with my girlfriend in Basel SBB train station and I had a bit of a limp.
Once in Lisbon’s airport after the x-ray machine beeped a female cop refused to touch me and asked a male cop to do so. Instead of doing the touching, he just picked the bomb detector stick and rubbed on my belt.
These experiences basically opened my eyes. So I’m very cautious and respectful when I’m around them.
My experience is limited and tainted from experiences in my past, but I don’t trust the police in Switzerland. I find them quite rude and often a bit racist. (Again, my personal experience)
Once I had to call them as I was knocked over by a car, I had a picture of the vehicle (plate included) and asked them to follow up with the driver as I was injured. Their excuse “We can only deal with things when two people saw what happened otherwise we can’t be sure you’re telling the truth.”
In Ticino from 2017 to 2021 police was able to inflict a fine of 100.- if you were caught in possession of 10g or less of weed/hashish.
This was a regional law that went directly against a federal law, but they didn’t care to much. This would be discovered during 2021, with the police having already earned about 30’000.- for cannabis possession.
They’ve established that even if their fines didn’t have legal bases, they will not pay back the monet to people because all individuals should of recourse the decision bringing it to a tribunal.
This is just a big shameful scam by them over some futile weed.
https://www.tio.ch/ticino/attualita/1554374/multe-canapa-lugano-possesso-stato
I don’t think that most cantons grant the right to be assisted by a lawyer when questioned by police. I know it’s not the case in many EU countries, unless you are being accused of a crime. But if police asks you questions because they assume that you know information about an event, you need to answer truthfully and you don’t have the right to be assisted by anyone.
There are limitations on what can be done with that information, of course.
Yes.
If in doubt don’t talk to the police. There is nothing you can say to the police that you couldn’t say at a later time when you’re not rattled but what you say can’t be taken back.
Of course it does!
Pretty sure this poster is aimed at protestors (and in the US probably rights activists it looks like it’s from that era). It does apply to Switzerland – Swiss cops are not very used to protests and tend to be heavy handed.
Completely different in everyday life of course – cops on the streets are usually helpful and friendly.
No. I had quite a few encounters with the Police. I called them and also they just showed up doe to some Investigation in my block. As long as you’re friendly and cooperative it’s the same with them. Also my Lil brother is a hugh police fan and they were so nice to him😭 Even showed him the sirene and he got a Sticker. I’m pretty sure most of them are good ppl and I often feel sorry for them because of their reputation and their job. BUT there are of course some AH with a lil PP and think they are the big bad wolf in uniform….
Depends on the situation.
If you’re white and appear Swiss/European, you’ll be fine in most situations.
If you’re not, well let’s just say the UN just earlier this year rebuked Switzerland for racist police practices and racial profiling (again).
If you are at -or apparently even just happen to be near – a demonstration (with permit or not), this behaviour is very advisable (although i don’t know if 2 is accurate). You are required to tell them all the Info that’s in also on your ID + your adress but nothing else. And everything else can be used against you or others, even things that may seem mundane to you.
Also, they are required to show you their ID (Polizeiausweis) if you ask for it and to tell you the reason for arrest, where they are taking you etc. They also need proper justification to put hancuffs on you. You can request that someone of your own gender searches and (if they’re able to) they have to comply with that request. A Leibesvisitation (where you have tonget naked etc) is only permissible in rare circumstances for your own safety or that of others.
However, they might just pretend they don’t hear you, argue with you or ignore all of this and you can’t really do anything about it. That’s my experience at least.
Depends whether they question you as a witness or not. AFAIK it’s OK to talk to them as long as they question you as a witness, but when that’s not the case they could lead you to incriminate yourself through seemingly harmless questions. When in doubt, politely tell them that you would like to remain silent.
Cops aren’t allowed to lie in Switzerland, always record yourself when you talk to them.
Cops arent allowed to lie to you – they do it anyway. Usually they are friendly but they are NOT your friend. So just be nice and do the minimum you have to (identify yourself) and kindly disagree to anything else.
Yes, this also applies to Switzerland. There is a general obligation to show ID. Not for Swiss citizens, however, who are allowed to move freely within Switzerland without ID – with the risk that you will be taken to the police station to establish your identity. But more from the ID card requirement you do not have. Look, that you can be identified, but more also not. As for making statements: Yes, always always refuse to make a statement. From a legal point of view, refusing to make a statement is neither negative nor positive. The police want to make you believe that you will be in more trouble, but this is not true. Police officers are NOT allowed to lie in Switzerland, it is forbidden by law. But they do it anyway. But by law, police officers are forbidden to lie for the purpose of finding evidence.
The replies under this post are board downplay discrimination in Switzerland.
Nobody’s claiming we’re on some US-type level but I often experience a complete denial of any problems with the judiciary system especially in regards to racism.
Switzerland to this day acts as if it had nothing to do with colonialism, despite it was the last European country to stop its support for slavery and it still continues this act of negligence. In 2018 a man faced the same fate as George Floyd but unlike in the US, nobody, neither the media cared. It shouldn’t have been the last act of police brutality against minority groups but they rarely get any publicity. After a black man was shot last year, the UNHCR even paid an official visit this winter – again with minimal coverage and even backlash from authorities against the experts who visited.
My comment’s already stretched for too long so I’ll leave it at that I’m deeply ashamed for my compatriots’ ignorance.
Yeah from my experiences with the police here I’m keeping them at arms distance trust wise.
First time – They entered my apartment, pistols out, because I didn’t answer the door promptly at 1:30am. They didn’t call police out until in my flat, I still dread to think what would have happened if I had grabbed something to defend myself not knowing why someone had opened my door at 1:30am. Reason for them being there? Someone called in a noise complaint and they were checking every flat to find who it was. They saw “damage” on my door and thought someone had broken in. They warned me on my manners when I told them to get the fuck out of my flat.
Second time – My neighbour had an asshole of a husband. I heard a series of yelling that ended with her screaming, I called the cops because obviously worried about her and her kid. They turn up, suggest that she leaves and then **in front of the husband** knock on my door to tell me what’s going to happen after I called the police.
It was within a month that he showed up drunk at her workplace causing trouble and then she was allowed the equivelant of a restraining order, which could have been prevented already and I had to live next door to this asshole with him knowing I called the police on him.
I don’t care if it’s incompetence or malice in these cases… I think very heavily about my willingness to be open with them now.
Lol, Switzrland isn’t US.
I imagine it depends what it’s about.
I don’t think cops in most of Europe can lie to you. I’d be interested to know that. I’d also be interested to know the level of false confessions and wrongful convictions. (There goes the rest of my morning!)
Depends who talks to you. Stadtpolizei ZH ist notorious for being cocky and full of bs, hence I mostly refuse to say anything except for my personal Identifikation.
As a Racial mixed Swiss, it’s a hit or miss wuth the police. Birder control is usually cool, street cops are 50 50 for me. But in general if you approach them for something they are very kind. Much kinder than alot of other police forces in Europe…
Yes it does
if i remember correctly police can drag you in for questioning to be a ‘witness’ even if they already think you are the suspect. this way they cicumvent the need to provide a lawyer or something.
Well, in my small region, as happens in a lot of places in Switzerland, you know most of the people around town, including cops that often you even know from before they started their career.
Most of my interaction with police are quite informal and friendly, however if shit it’s the fan for whatever reason you NEED to shut the fuck up and call a lawyer as police will do their job, and you need to make sure your rights are respected. That’s just common sense; no ACAB shit or stuff like that by any means