Zurich municipal police do not want to abandon the rubber bullets for order maintenance operations, despite the controversy that surrounds the use of these projectiles. Their use will be deducted precisely from September.
And Report commissioned by the city concludes that this means remains necessary to manage the overflows and unauthorized manifestations. Germany, which only uses batons and spray with pepper, has more injured, according to the commander of the Municpal police Zurich Beat opplicates.
“There are two major drawbacks,” said the officer. “If we give up the rubber bullets, there would be a very large risk of injury on both sides, on the part of the police and the demonstrators. And on the other hand, we should mobilize many more police and police. Resources that we simply do not have in Switzerland, in the city of Zurich …”
Precise figures are missing
For the moment, there are no specific figures on the use of rubber bullets, unlike firearms and incapacitating devices. From September 1, each use will be recorded in Zurich, as claimed by the municipal legislative. Over the past ten years, there were 93 uses. The goal is to reduce this figure. And the police are testing new launchers, the current ones fifty years old.
The Zurich municipal in charge of security, Karin Rykart, pleads for a national census. Amnesty International, which regularly criticizes the use of rubber bullets, welcomes Zurich’s transparency, but stresses that counting alone does not reduce abuse.
>> Read also: Amnesty Switzerland is campaigning for the right to demonstrate
A subject that frequently makes titles
The use of rubber bullets to keep violent groups at a distance, for example during football matches or unauthorized demonstrations, regularly gives rise to controversies.
In May 2023, a demonstrator in Zurich lost his sight. In the process, 6,400 people signed a petition to request the national ban on rubber bullet rifles.
An unofficial count of an Ophthalmologist Zurich revealed 29 eye lesions in Switzerland since the 1980s.
Valentin Jordil/ebz
