City of Zurich registers more burglaries "We have to leave, we no longer feel comfortable at home"

Noemi is burgled at the end of December. Electronic devices, jewelry and cash are gone. What remains is a bad feeling. The police also confirm this: Burglaries have increased in the city of Zurich.

The drawers of the chest of drawers in the hallway are open. All the contents are scattered on the floor. Noemi has just come home and is about to give her cat Jimmy breakfast when she notices the mess. Nothing serious, she thinks, and blames Jimmy for the mess. "It took me a few seconds to realize that a cat can't open drawers," the 25-year-old tells blue News.

She walks into her room. There are socks on the floor, her clothes have been rummaged through and there are empty preserving jars on the bed, usually filled with foreign money. "From my travels," says Noemi.

Her flatmate's room has also been turned upside down. At that moment, she realizes that they were burgled on the night of 23 December.

Access via the balcony door

Almost all the electronic devices in the apartment were gone. "For example, my projector and my new Nintendo Switch," says Noemi. A gold vreneli that she had received from her grandfather, cash and almost all of her and her flatmate's jewelry were also missing. "The jewelry in particular had emotional value for us, as we received a lot of it as a gift."

The perpetrators gained access to the apartment via the balcony door. They used a screwdriver to pry the door open, a method that police say is often used for balcony doors of this kind. "As we live in the middle of Zurich, the burglars had to be quick. Otherwise they would have been spotted," says Noemi.

She informs the police. They arrive 20 minutes later. The officers take the empty preserving jars on Noemi's bed and a broken broom in the garden to secure evidence. "They told us from the start that it would be difficult to find the perpetrators," she recalls. Nevertheless, Noemi and her flatmate pressed charges against persons unknown.

"What remains is this uneasy feeling"

The police take their details and they are given a form where they have to declare the stolen items and their value. After 30 to 45 minutes, the police were gone again. Later, they had to give their DNA and fingerprints at the police station.

"After the break-in, I probably didn't sleep alone for half a week," says Noemi. "Our first reaction was: 'We have to leave, we don't feel comfortable at home anymore', but this feeling has since receded."

The two quickly got over the material things. "What remains is this uneasy feeling that a stranger has been in our home and massively disturbed our privacy. Somehow you never think that someone could break into your home until it happens. And now there is a real insecurity that it could happen again. I never had that before."

Number of registered burglaries has risen

It is not yet known exactly how high the number of burglaries rose in 2024. However, when asked by blue News, the Zurich city police (Stapo) wrote: "The number of registered burglaries in the city of Zurich has increased compared to the previous year."

The police crime statistics for 2023 already showed a trend: 28,793 burglaries were registered across Switzerland, an increase of 13% compared to the previous year. On average, 114 burglaries and sneak-ins were recorded every day in 2023, compared to 98 in 2022.

In the city of Zurich, neighborhoods with a high proportion of residential buildings are particularly affected by burglaries. The city police explain: "There are different types of burglars who specialize in certain properties." Interestingly, basements are the most frequent target of burglars in Zurich, while apartments are affected about equally often regardless of their location in the building.

If you catch a burglar in the act, the police advise caution: "Retreat immediately and do not try to stop them or stand in their way." Instead, you should note the appearance of the perpetrators and any vehicles and alert the police immediately.

Particularly important: The crime scene should not be altered in order to preserve evidence. "The police depend on these traces, so you should not clean up or change the crime scene. Time and again, the police can arrest perpetrators and then prove that they have committed crimes based on the traces left behind," emphasizes the Zurich city police.