International polls rank Bern as one of the safest capital cities to live in on the planet. swissinfo.ch found out what it means to feel secure there.
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Born and raised up in Russia, became a journalist in the late 1990s reported on humanitarian and political issues travelling to different regions of the Russian Federation. Later worked as a parliamentary correspondent in Moscow. After completing post-graduate studies as a media specialist in the University of Geneva in 2007, Lioudmila start working as a multimedia online journalist and joined Swissinfo in 2013. She speaks French, German and English.
Julie worked as a radio reporter for BBC and independent radio all over the UK before joining swissinfo.ch's predecessor, Swiss Radio International, as a producer. After attending film school, Julie worked as an independent filmmaker before coming to swissinfo.ch in 2001.
The city, with its thriving economy and excellent infrastructure, seems to offer a great quality of life. People appear to be pretty relaxed about personal safety, and burglar alarms on cars or houses are not commonplace. People often leave their belongings unattended while going for a swim in the pool or the river, while supermarkets leave goods outside the stores overnight.
From children to politicians, there’s a feeling in the air that Bern is a safe place to be, whether it’s about personal property or personal security.
Overall crime rates fell in 2016 by 2% compared with the year before, but the number of robberies increasedExternal link by 10%. While most people we talked to thought there was nothing to fear in the Swiss capital, one woman described an attack she experienced. Even so, Bern is statistically safer than Switzerland’s other cities, such as Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne and Basel, when it comes to violent crime. (Julie Hunt/Lioudmila Clot, swissinfo.ch)
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You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.