Overcrowding in Swiss prisons is leading to deteriorating detention conditions and infringing inmates’ fundamental rights, Switzerland’s National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) has warned in its latest annual report.
The watchdog said high occupancy levels are limiting prisoners’ privacy, increasing the risk of violence and reducing access to adequate healthcare. It also said prison staff are facing growing pressure as correctional facilities operate beyond capacity.
According to the NCPT, overcrowded prisons are placing significant strain on personnel, with rising workloads and heightened tensions within detention facilities.
The commission warned that expanding prison capacity alone would not resolve the crisis. Instead, it called for a broader strategy aimed at reducing the overall number of people held in detention.
The report urges the Swiss authorities to move beyond short-term measures and develop long-term structural solutions to ease pressure on the penal system.
It says that without systemic change, overcrowding will continue to undermine both safety and rehabilitation efforts within prisons.
The NCPT also criticised Switzerland’s continued use of civil defence shelters to house asylum seekers, saying conditions in many of the facilities are inadequate.
It highlighted problems including overcrowding, a lack of natural daylight and constant noise from ventilation systems, all of which it said contribute to poor living standards.
The commission called on the authorities to address both prison overcrowding and asylum accommodation issues simultaneously, arguing that relying solely on expanding detention capacity risks perpetuating the underlying problems within the system.
It concluded that Switzerland requires comprehensive reforms to ensure detention conditions meet basic human rights standards.
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