Police association opposes unarmed police
Keystone-SDA
The Association of Swiss Police Officers has rejected plans to disarm police in Lausanne.
+ Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox
This comes after the city parliament decided that city police should no longer carry firearms during certain missions.
The Association of Swiss Police Officers has expressed serious concerns over the Green Party’s proposal, according to a press release on Tuesday. They argue that carrying weapons is a crucial part of police work, essential for protecting both the public and police officers.
More
More
To keep trust, police taught to ‘keep cool’
Ilias Panchard, from the Green Party, submitted the proposal, arguing that carrying firearms hinders de-escalation efforts. He believes that only officers responding to shootings or violent crimes should be armed.
‘Limited ability to act’
The association disagrees, stating that police operations often involve unpredictable and potentially dangerous situations requiring swift and decisive action. They argue that without firearms, the safety of both officers and citizens would be severely compromised.
They also argue that removing firearms wouldn’t create a more peaceful society, but would significantly limit the police’s ability to respond in critical situations.
+ European committee raises alarm over police violence in western Switzerland
After the city parliament overwhelmingly approved the proposal two weeks ago, the city government must now come up with implementation plans. Pierre-Antoine Hildbrand, from the
Radical-Liberal Party, responsible for safety in the city government, has sharply criticised the plans.
Meanwhile, the Radical-Liberal Party has launched a national petition against the “disarmament of the police” in response to the Lausanne initiative.
Translated from German with DeepL/sp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
