DistantNews
Support us
Uster council backs parliamentary inquiry into police affair
🇨🇭 Switzerland /Crime & Justice

Uster council backs parliamentary inquiry into police affair

From Neue Zürcher Zeitung · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Uster’s municipal council voted 31-0, with five abstentions, to establish a parliamentary investigative commission into alleged financial irregularities involving the city police.
  • The allegations include purchases made over several years without proper approval from the city council, with security councillor Beatrice Caviezel accused of supporting the practice.
  • The Social Democrats called for an external investigation as well, while the Greens abstained over concerns about the commission’s cost, duration and timing.

Uster’s council has chosen a formal political investigation to examine alleged financial misconduct inside the city’s police administration. Thirty-one of 36 councillors supported creating a parliamentary investigative commission, while five abstained.

Anyone who enforces rules on the population must also follow the rules themselves.

— Daniel SchnyderThe Swiss People’s Party councillor argued that the allegations justified a parliamentary investigative commission.

The affair concerns purchases that police allegedly made over several years without obtaining the required approval from the city council. Beatrice Caviezel, the Green Liberal security councillor, is alleged to have supported the practice. The controversy has also drawn criticism over what the NZZ described as limited communication.

Daniel Schnyder of the Swiss People’s Party argued that officials who enforce rules on the public must follow those rules themselves. He said the situation justified using an investigative body reserved for exceptional cases and urged parliament to accept its responsibility.

A parliamentary investigative commission is the only body that has the necessary powers for this.

— Ursula RäuftlinThe councillor defended the inquiry while rejecting the claim that it would prejudge Beatrice Caviezel.

Caviezel’s own party supported the commission. Councillor Ursula Räuftlin said the move did not amount to prejudging the accused, but was needed to clarify the allegations fully. FDP councillor Gianluca di Modica likewise called the commission the only appropriate measure, saying political responsibility begins when political trust is lost, not only when criminal law is involved.

Political responsibility does not begin only with criminal law, but where political trust has been lost.

— Gianluca di ModicaThe FDP councillor explained why he considered the inquiry necessary.

The Social Democrats opposed relying on a parliamentary inquiry alone. Tanja Göldi said several parliamentary committees and councillors could potentially be connected to the affair, so the council should also commission an external investigation. The Greens abstained, citing the time and expense involved and arguing that the council should first await the work of the responsible committee.

The results of their work should be awaited.

— Thomas WälchiThe Green councillor explained his group’s abstention and its preference to wait for the responsible committee.
About this summary

Originally published by Neue Zürcher Zeitung in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog