Authorities Bern city government does not want to rename the immigration police
Bern's municipal council refuses to give the city's immigration police a new name. A change of name would not make sense and would entail high six-figure costs.
11.07.2024, 09:46
SDA
This is what the city government writes in its report on a directive motion that the city council referred in May 2023. The authors of the motion from the GLP/JGLP parliamentary group had criticized the term as outdated.
They argued that the word "foreign" created a rift in the population. It leads to the exclusion of foreign citizens. Almost all Swiss cities have long since replaced the term.
In the view of the municipal council, the comparison is flawed. No other authority in Switzerland has the same powers as the immigration police in the city of Bern. Its tasks are carried out elsewhere by the cantonal or municipal police.
The area of responsibility of the immigration police in Bern includes combating people smuggling and human trafficking. The authority also combats abuses in the shadow economy, exploitation in the red light district and organized begging.
Successes in the fight against exploitation
In the first half of 2024 alone, four people were freed from their exploitative situation during checks led by the immigration police. In the red-light district, two victims of sexual exploitation were successfully removed from the reach of their so-called loverboys.
The Aliens Police are one of only a few official agencies whose name shows what their effective areas of responsibility are. It has built up trust in the aforementioned milieus. A change of name would have an impact on victim protection.
The vast majority of foreign residents have nothing to do with the immigration police anyway, writes the municipal council. The Residents' Services/Migration section is responsible for their concerns, for example when moving house or reuniting with family members.
