Summary

SAI Switzerland reviewed the resource situation at the Federal Office of Police (fedpol) to check whether it has sufficient personnel to fulfil its statutory mandate in relation to investigative activities. The auditors considered the staffing levels for investigations at the Federal Criminal Police to be insufficient. As a result, important proceedings are being delayed or not initiated at all which compromises Switzerland’s domestic security. The auditors considered the hierarchical management culture of fedpol as one of the reasons for the lengthy investigation proceedigs because decisions were often not made at the appropriate level and required lengthy internal approvals. The staff sectors appear to be significantly oversized, and there is no clear management system for the use of external personnel. However, SAI acknowledged that fedpol's new leadership initiated some improvements in early 2025, but it did not review the decision-making powers of its employees. SAI Switzerland recommends that fedpol, together with the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, assess the specific additional need for investigators. The SAI advocates a phased expansion of the investigation divisions, provided that this expansion is in line with the priorities of the future security policy strategy. It should also be achieved as far as possible using the savings and optimisation opportunities identified by the auditors.