Swiss police face persistent caseload involving young North African men

Police in the canton of Thurgau recorded about 1,000 offences last year, most of them attributed to young men from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and nearly 900 more so far this year. SRF reports that the cases are putting pressure on police and criminal justice authorities.

In one case, officers responding to a break-in in Kreuzlingen found a broken window and later stopped a 19-year-old Algerian man with cuts on his hands near the railway station. He has asylum status and had been recorded by police in connection with about a dozen offences in recent weeks, said Matthias Graf, a spokesperson for the Thurgau cantonal police. The man denied that his injuries came from the break-in. He is now in pre-trial detention, and the case is being handled by the St Gallen public prosecutor because he is also suspected of offences there.

Graf said the police had faced high numbers of property offences by young men from the Maghreb for three years. He said patrol officers can be tied up for hours on a single case, and described encounters with suspects as difficult, citing aggression and a lack of cooperation.

Switzerland received 15,667 asylum applications through the end of September this year, with people from the Maghreb accounting for 17 per cent. Nearly all applications from the region are rejected, SRF reported. Federal figures published by Blick show that in 2024, 80 per cent of North Africans with asylum status were accused of an offence.

Applications from Morocco and Tunisia have fallen since 2024, while those from Algeria, the largest group, have remained high. In early 2024, Justice Minister Beat Jans announced 24-hour asylum procedures. The federal government also set up a task force targeting repeat offenders in 2025.

In its first 12 months, 116 people were referred to the task force. More than 60 have either been returned or are in detention and due to be returned, said Claudio Martelli, deputy director of the State Secretariat for Migration and head of its asylum division. He said cooperation between police, prosecutors, cantonal authorities and the secretariat had had an effect, but further measures would be needed.

One proposal would assess before the formal asylum process whether applicants can make a case for protection. Martelli said the aim was to discourage people who do not qualify from coming to Switzerland. He added that most asylum seekers behave properly and described those involved in crime as a small minority.

Journalist and Maghreb expert Beat Stauffer said some of the young men hope for a better life but have faced problems, including with the law, in their home countries. He told SRF that some arrive in Switzerland after living on the streets elsewhere in Europe and using drugs or medication.