Did you hear the one about a bike that was stolen from a secure underground garage?
It was in Switzerland.
I know, I doubt the punchline made you laugh, it certainly didn’t make Steve chuckle, but it’s definitely a joke. In the same week that ‘safe’ Switzerland was named the happiest country in the world(!), Steve had his bicycle stolen from our ‘secure’ garage.
When we were about to embark on our Big Adventure everyone, almost without exception, commented on the fact that Switzerland was a safe country. Well, I have news for you, Switzerland is not as safe as you might think it is. Having done a little bit of research* I have found out that even though general crime levels are indeed lower than in the UK, the incidence of Intentional Homicide is higher in Switzerland. The number of murders with firearms is five times higher than in the UK. There are 53% more car thefts per 1,000 people in Switzerland compared to the UK. In addition, about 23% of the population are immigrants (high immigration usually being connected to high crime rates). AND our children had to participate in a routine ‘lock down drill’ at school, just in case some loon decided to take issue and terrorise 900 primary school kids. So why do we have this perception that Switzerland is safe?
Life of Ryrie 