In future, the police should say which passport suspects, perpetrators and victims have. Image: KEYSTONE
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Should the police also give a migration background? And if so, what is it?
The Zurich voters should decide whether the police must state the nationality and / or immigration background of the perpetrators. Leftists announce a referendum.
Is there a relationship between nationality and crime? Zurich politicians have been asking this question for three years now. Since 2017, the city of Zurich has found that a person’s passport says nothing about why an act was committed. Since then, her police officers have no longer mentioned the nationality of the perpetrators, suspects or victims in media releases. The information is still recorded for statistics.
This particularly annoyed the SVP: It speaks of “censorship policy” and criticizes how “foreign crime” is concealed. With a popular cantonal initiative by the city police, it wants to dictate how it should report about crimes.
Your suggestion goes much further than previous practice. The SVP wants the police not only to mention nationality, age and gender in their media releases, but also to reveal the “migration background” on request.
What else applies under Migration background?
SP government councilor Mario Fehr does not like the practice of the city of Zurich. (Icon image) Image: KEYSTONE
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The cantonal parliament and the government reject the SVP initiative. It is argued that the term “migration background” is unclear. The Zurich SP Justice Minister Mario Fehr went even further in his criticism: “We would have to create a kind of genealogy department in the police force.” In addition, he was strictly against creating two categories of Swiss.
The SVP does not prescribe when a Swiss citizen does not have a so-called “migration background”. It remains unclear how the initiative should be implemented. Federal government practice could provide an approach to genealogy. The Federal Statistical Office is one of the “population with a migration background”:
- Foreigners, regardless of how many generations live in Switzerland
- Naturalized Swiss if they were not born in Switzerland
- Naturalized Swiss citizens if they and their parents were not born in Switzerland
Counter-proposal to the popular initiative
The government wants to back the popular initiative with a counter-proposal. Not because she thinks the opportunities for the SVP initiative are great, but because she is unhappy with the practice of the city of Zurich. Since 2017, the police in the cantonal capital have only given nationality on request. Journalists should actively ask questions today, which means that the focus is even more on nationality.
The Counter-proposal wants the city police to adapt to the practice of the cantonal police. The nationality is mentioned in their communications – but not the “migration background”. The cantonal council approved this counterproposal on Monday.
The naming of nationalities could have become a matter resolved. In the debate, the SVP itself recognized that its popular initiative had a weak point because of the “migration background”. If the initiative were withdrawn, the path would be clear for the counter-proposal.
referendum combats both proposals
Delio Zanovello is Co-President of the Junge Grünen Zürich. Image: zvg
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Now, however, there is a risk of a vote anyway. A committee, so far consisting of the Young Greens, Juso, the Alternative Left and the Secondas association, wants to take the referendum against the counter-proposal.
Delio Zanovello, Co-President of the Zurich Young Greens, is disturbed by the core content of popular initiative and counter-proposal. “This is an attempt to explain a crime only with the origin of the perpetrator or victim,” he says to watson.
You don’t become a criminal because you have a specific passport, but for many other reasons. The term “migration background” is also unclear. In conversation with watson, he asks: “Is a great-great-great-grandmother from France considered a migrant background?”
The referendum committee has 60 days to collect 3000 signatures. The SVP has announced that it will stick to its popular initiative if the referendum is held. If it does, the people will have to vote on both proposals.
