NCJ Number
171173
Date Published
1996
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article presents statistics on the Swiss criminal justice system and comments on future trends.
Abstract
The total of condemned persons in 1991 was 63,657, of whom 12.8 percent were females, 51.5 percent were persons 18 to 29 years old; and 43.8 percent were foreigners. The number of criminal acts reported to the police doubled between 1990 and 1993. The article includes a section on violations of drug laws, which increased extraordinarily between 1991 and 1993; and descriptions of model programs at several penal institutions. The Parole Office of the Canton of Berne has instituted a Job-Bridge Project to help ex-offenders secure employment and begin programs of work progression to help them reintegrate into society. One of the most significant problems in the Swiss criminal justice system is overcrowding of the jails, due at least in part to increased numbers of drug-related convictions, and some prisoners were being held in converted hospitals. Switzerland was considering new laws against money laundering, organized crime, and various sex offenses. Figures