Last year, 9,297 new incarcerations began in a prison establishment in Switzerland, a stable figure compared to 2022 (9,121). The proportion of men still exceeds 90% while people of foreign nationality were in the majority (67%).
Some 90.6% of incarcerations in 2023 concerned men, according to figures published Monday by the Federal Statistical Office. Women represented 9.4% of cases, an increasing trend over the long term.
If the share of foreigners reaches more than two thirds in 2023, over ten years, the trend is stable. However, this proportion has almost tripled since the 1980s. Regarding the execution of measures in 2023, the Swiss remain in the majority (64%).
The sentences most often carried out in 2023 were custodial sentences (38%) and alternative sentences for an unpaid fine (42%). Last year, 31 people, including 28 men, were subject to a life sentence.
Community service for a quarter of sentence executions
In 2023, 2,823 executions of sentences in the form of community service began, or less than a quarter (23%) of all executions. The proportion of women (27%) and that of Swiss (61%) carrying out work of general interest was higher than in detention. In 83% of cases, a fine was executed in this form.
The execution of sentences under electronic surveillance represented only 3% of all executions started in 2023. This method of execution of punishment mainly concerned men (82%) and Swiss people (61%).
>> Read also: The suicide rate in prisons is four times higher in Switzerland than in the EU
ats/boi
Swiss
