Law enforcement in Switzerland

Law enforcement in Switzerland is distributed between
 * 1) the Federal Office of Police
 * 2) Cantonal police
 * 3) Municipal police

The cantonal police forces act independently and are not subject to the Federal Police. The cantonal governments define the responsibilities of separate municipal forces where they exist. The Federal Police does not have uniformed officers. It is responsible for relations between cantonal police forces, and between Swiss and foreign police forces, as well as for organised crime, money laundering and crimes involving explosives.

There is also the Border Police which is a federal division that operates both customs and border checks. With Switzerland due to join the Schengen agreement in November 2008 the Border Police will still be present on all borders to do systematic customs checks and random passport checks.

Vehicles
Typical police cars in Switzerland are BMW coupés and sedans. Other vehicles by Mercedes, Opel or Volvo, are often used. Minibuses in German-speaking Switzerland are usually the Volkswagen T4 or T5. In the French-speaking cantons, increased usage of vehicles from French automobile manufacturers Peugeot and Renault as well as Toyota.