Switzerland seeks joint police and customs centre with Germany

Switzerland wants to deepen police cooperation with Germany, Swiss Justice Minister Beat Jans said during a meeting with German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt in Chiasso, SRF reported. The Swiss government hopes to establish a joint police and customs cooperation centre on the German border, following the model in Chiasso.

“Crime knows no borders,” Dobrindt said during his visit. “Crime uses borders to gain an advantage over security authorities. We do not want to grant crime that advantage.”

Switzerland has worked closely with its neighbouring countries for years to combat cross-border crime. With Germany, it operates a liaison office in Basel, while cooperation is closer at joint centres for police and customs cooperation, known as CCPDs, Jans said.

The Chiasso centre has operated for 23 years in the railway station. Italian police, financial police and Carabinieri work there alongside officers from the Ticino cantonal police, border officials and federal police staff.

Andrea Wehrmüller, who heads the centre, said the arrangement allowed authorities to contact one another directly and easily at any time. The centre is responsible around the clock for exchanging information with the cantons, the federal government and Italian authorities.

Its work extends beyond conventional border controls. Migration and a broad range of property crimes account for most cases, Wehrmüller said, along with offences linked to serious or organised crime.

Jans said the purpose of the visit was to present the Chiasso model to Dobrindt. “The Federal Council is seeking to strengthen cooperation in the interests of security at the border between Switzerland and Germany,” he said. “We have therefore agreed to deepen cooperation with Germany in this area.”

Dobrindt expressed openness to closer cooperation but said any possible steps would also have to be coordinated with Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, the German states bordering Switzerland. A joint police and customs centre on the German-Swiss border is therefore unlikely to be established immediately.