Do undercover police officers exist?

Do undercover police officers exist?

 "In action films, we often see police officers using false identities to infiltrate crime scenes and trap suspects. Is this possible in Switzerland? " 

S, Geneva

Swiss law provides for a range of measures enabling the criminal authorities to gather evidence of the commission of an offence; these are commonly referred to as "coercive measures".

Some of these measures are not very incisive, such as DNA analysis. This is the case with "covert investigation", which consists of appointing an undercover agent whose task is to contact suspects, while concealing his or her function, in order to gather evidence of the commission of offences. Such an agent has a genuine secret identity, backed up by credentials such as false documents, which enables him or her to build a relationship of trust with suspects. Before this measure can be ordered, a certain number of general conditions - common to all coercive measures - must first be met: the secret investigation must be necessary (no less severe measure would achieve the desired objective), proportionate (it appears justified in view of the seriousness of the offence) and respond to concrete suspicions of a serious offence, such as an attempt on life or major drug trafficking.

A distinction must be made between a covert investigation and a simple covert search, in that the former can only be ordered if the latter would have no chance of success. A secret investigation is distinguished by the fact that it is not a long-term process and that the police officer hides who he is by "simple deception" and not by means of a false identity attested by a document.

For example, a police officer who infiltrates a drugs or hard-core pornography ring for a month, claiming to want to take part in it, is acting in the context of a secret investigation. It is important to emphasise that under Swiss law, this officer may under no circumstances incite a third party to commit an offence. They must even be careful not to ask the accused questions that would amount to an interrogation, as the person concerned would not be able to exercise their right to remain silent and not to cooperate. It is therefore a delicate mission in which the undercover agent may nevertheless be authorised to commit certain offences if they are justified.