Criminal gangs slip through the cracks of the police

The children’s game “I see something you don’t see” is also used by the police. It should say “I know someone you don’t know”. Because, as Michael Leupold (54), commander of the Aargau cantonal police, told the “Tages-Anzeiger”, there is no exchange between the cantonal police.

If a person is not wanted nationally or internationally, but only cantonally, the other cantons will not immediately find out. There is no quick question. Also because the 26 cantons each have their own information system, which does not simplify the data flow.

The police must call

The consequences are absurd: if the police detain a person who seems suspicious during a police check, they must inform the operations center. They then call as many other cantons as possible to obtain information about the motorist. Half an hour passed quickly.

“Holding suspects for so long is not only laborious and unreasonable for the innocent, it is also dangerous if it is actually a violent criminal,” says Leupold.

And: This working method is to the advantage of mafiosi and cybercriminals, who are less easy to detect in this way. According to a report by the canton of Basel-Landschaft on inter-cantonal data exchange, a uniform system would also help to deal with serial offenders.

Ready in 2026 at the earliest

At the end of 2021, the Cantonal Conference of Directors of Justice and Police (KKJPD) decided to create the legal basis for central data collection for all cantons. And technically they are already far.

However, the system is not yet in use, partly due to federalism. The cantons have police sovereignty. Everyone should agree to centralized data collection. According to the KKJPD, the process will take at least until 2026. (lazy)