Switzerland recorded nearly 8,000 theft convictions in 2025

Nearly 8,000 people were convicted of theft in Switzerland in 2025, according to criminal conviction statistics reported by SRF. Criminologist Dirk Baier called the figure high but not surprising.

The total was 7,956. Theft convictions include cases such as pickpocketing, bicycle theft and home burglaries. Baier, of the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, said property crimes account for about two-thirds of offences in crime statistics.

About 1,500 of those convicted of theft were Swiss nationals, while more than 80 per cent held foreign passports. Around two-thirds were not part of Switzerland’s permanent resident population. Baier said this group included asylum seekers and people he described as “criminal tourists”.

Baier said theft can be a relatively simple offence to commit. Some asylum seekers may have little money and few prospects, he said, while people travelling to Switzerland to commit theft may be drawn by the opportunity to take poorly secured belongings.

Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Migration said the federal government and cantons had formed a task force to address repeat offenders. It said authorities use all available legal measures to detain them until they leave the country, and stressed that only a small minority of asylum seekers commit crimes. The Federal Council is planning further changes to asylum procedures, the secretariat said.