Basel is not the most crime-ridden canton after all
The Basler Zeitung caused a stir yesterday when it reported that Basel is the canton with the most crimes in Switzerland. However, the local paper had got its figures mixed up.
When presenting the criminal statistics for 2016 to the public prosecution, the officials still had to acknowledge that there has been a slight increase in criminality in Basel, however.
“Such a headline is of course not pleasant for us to read,” Beat Voser, head of Basel’s criminal police, said, referring to a headline in the Basler Zeitung. The local newspaper had reported that Basel was “the most crime-ridden canton of Switzerland”. This is despite the word “increase” being used a few times during the presentation of the annual crime statistics in front of about a dozen journalists in Waaghof.
First public prosecutor Alberto Fabbri emphasised that the public prosecution appreciates the comparison of criminal statistics that the Federal Office for Statistics allows. However, he said that a five-year-comparison made far more sense for Basel.
Likewise, Mr Voser stated that a comparison between Basel and other cities is only partially sensible. For instance, Zurich and Bern are not border cities like Basel, he said. The city of Geneva is most comparable, since it borders on France. And last year, the city at the Rhone had suffered the most from crime.
Although the number of reported crimes increased by one per cent in Basel last year, it must not be forgotten that over the last few years there has also been a decrease in the number of recorded crimes. Nevertheless, Mr Voser clarified: “We always aim to be better.” And Basel is nowhere near as dangerous as described in the Basler Zeitung, he said.
Between midnight and six in the morning
The Basler Zeitung reported 110,1 violent crimes per 1,000 inhabitants and lovingly included a diagram. In reality however the statistics show 13,1 violent crimes for 2016. The number 110,1 includes all crimes, such as bicycle theft, for example.
Compared to 2015, when a total of 2,465 violent crimes were recorded, there was a small increase in 2016 to 2,515 (increase of 50). Mr Fabbri and Mr Voser see this increase as “a slight fluctuation”. Mr Voser repeatedly referred to the expression “pleasure society”. He talks about the “Agglozug” (the train coming from agglomerations), which travels to Basel already filled with “drunken” adolescents who go looking for more fun once they arrive in the city. “What happens between midnight and six in the morning is often hard to understand and always involves drugs,” he said. Basel’s function as a central hub has a negative effect on the statistic, he states.
Criminal or the most criminal?
Mr Voser explained the difference in comparison to the national statistics with the fact that in the canton of Neuchatel, the municipality of Riehen is not included. Therefore, numbers may vary, and Federal percentages are generally higher, he said. Regarding violent crimes in the city, there was a decrease by six per cent last year, he said. There were no homicides and only eight attempted homicides. “We can therefore assume that the worst crimes are decreasing,” he added.
And regarding the crimes which happen in the early hours. Here, crimes of grievous bodily harm have increased by 258 per cent. However, in real terms, there were 43 of these crimes in Basel in 2016. Mr Voser recalled a brawl in which the attackers struck their victim in the neck with a bottle.
“There are always drugs at play in these cases since everything is possible between midnight and six in the morning,” he said. In the less serious assault cases, the fact that entire groups attacked each other is a decisive factor. Even though the police are more often used, the situation is “not satisfactory”, Mr Voser said.
Baselworld faces headwinds in jubilee year
The watch and jewellery show Baselworld celebrates its 100-year-anniversary this year. However, the traditional exhibition is in crisis, as more and more exhibitors turn their backs on it.
Louis Erard has a premier seat. No visitor can miss the exhibition stand of this watch brand from the Jura at the end of the main hall. For five years, Louis Erard has had a stall at this location. However, a lot has changed around this spot since 2012.
For instance, South Korean electronic giant Samsung is exhibiting at Baselworld for the first time this year. Likewise, other large electronic companies such as Casio and Seiko are Louis Erard’s neighbours in the exhibition hall. The number of jeweller pavilions has also markedly increased.
“We have probably entered a new era,” Stéphane Waser, head of the watch brand Maurice Lacroix, states on request by the news agency, sda. Swiss watch brands certainly are in the minority by now. Alain Spinedi from Louis Erard also sees a decrease in public interest: “Maybe Baselworld has passed its prime,” he states.
200 fewer exhibitors
Even outside of these observations, the self-titled “world exhibition” for watches and jewellery is undergoing changes. Instead of 1,500 exhibitors as in 2016, only 1,300 brands are represented in Basel’s exhibition halls this year. The exhibition management explains this with higher requirements. They state that quality, rather than quantity, is key.
The current watch crisis and costs were also major factors. According to Bulgari CEO Jean-Christoph Babin, the exhibition costs are “very high”. A few exhibitors decided against going to Basel, it is assumed. Others chose the cheaper option of exhibiting in a hotel instead
Yet the most serious competitors to Baselworld are not hotels but other exhibitions such as the watch exhibition in Geneva and above all, the Internet. For example, the Geneva watch brand Raymond Weil has significantly expanded its activities via social networks. The Swatch-owned Omega watch firm has also launched sales via Instagram. “This is a first step towards online sales,” Omega CEO, Raynald Aeschlimann, confirmed.