Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Petty larceny, with pickpocketing high on the list, has been rising in Geneva: 1,597 arrests in 2006; 1,794 in 2007 and 1,955 in 2008, according to police figures, possibly in line with a nationwide increase, but comparative figures will not be available before 2010, reports AFP. The news agency notes in an article on Geneva crime that the number of cases of bodily harm have doubled during this period, with figures covering everything from slaps to serious injuries.
The city has been in the spotlight in recent days because of media attention over an incident involving a Saudi Arabian tourist who was badly injured in circumstances that remain unclear while the case is under investigation. The city’s tourism director, Francois Bryand, last week wrote a letter of complaint to the local government and the head of the hoteliers association as well as a group of small business owners near the Corrnavin train station have spoken out about the need for more police in the city centre.
The sentencing of a thief in Geneva Monday drew attention to the problem again, with the man receiving 10 months in prison after being found guilty of his 10th theft, reports 24 Heures (Fre). The newspaper describes one of the incidents: a man who was leaving the country definitively took out more than CHF10,000 from the bank to pay off his taxes, and as he began to drive away the thief opened the front door of his car and removed the bag with the money.
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News story, GenevaLunch, 18 August 2009.
Filed under: Society
Tags: complaints, crime, Geneva, homicides, hotels, petty theft, pickpockeets, pickpockets, shops, tourism office