Basel Police Crisis: Parties Demand Reform After Report

Basel’s political landscape is responding to a recently published report detailing significant problems within the Basel cantonal police force. Parties across the political spectrum have issued statements following the release of the findings, which reveal a “culture of fear” and a lack of trust in management, according to a report by constitutional law expert Markus Schefer.

SP: Concrete Increase in Women’s Quota Demanded

The Social Democratic Party (SP) Basel-Stadt welcomes the report and is calling for deep reforms, according to a party statement released Thursday. The SP is hoping for “concrete steps for a transformation of the police, particularly in the area of wages.” The report, the SP states, raises many important issues that need to be addressed. “We see important for parliament and the government to take concrete steps to restore public and employee confidence in the police and department leadership,” said Barbara Heer, Vice President of the SP Basel-Stadt.

The party also criticizes the Justice and Security Department (JSD) for taking too few measures to promote women. Grossrat Mahir Kabakci argues that the police force should better reflect the diversity of the population. The SP is demanding concrete steps to increase the women’s quota and combat racism. They are appealing to the bourgeois parties in the Grand Council not to block these efforts.

SVP: “Causes Lie on a Political Level”

The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) acknowledges the merit of the report, stating that the Parliamentary Group for Police (GPK) presented a clear and well-founded analysis. The unanimity across all parties underscores the seriousness of the identified issues, and the SVP is calling for “corresponding consequences.”

“The causes of the unrest and the massive staff shortage at the Canton Police do not primarily lie within the corps, but on a political-strategic level,” the party stated in a press release. The government, they claim, has ignored warning signals, downplayed problems, and delayed necessary decisions for years, exacerbating the staff shortage. The primary responsibility, rests with the government as a whole – and specifically with the department head responsible, under whose leadership the situation has reportedly worsened.

Greens: “More Than Lip Service is Needed”

The Green Party expressed surprise that the former police leadership was forced to leave despite justified demands for better working conditions. The GPK report suggests these demands were regularly raised with the responsible department. The party now calls on the government to use the forced restart to implement genuine improvements. “There needs to be childcare for police officers, for example during public order deployments. More than just lip service is needed regarding zero tolerance for racism, and sexism.”

Basta: “Expression of a Macho Police Culture”

“The crisis at the Canton Police is not simply a matter of staff shortages, but an expression of deep-seated structural and cultural problems,” writes Basta in its statement. The GPK report explicitly confirms the existence of structural sexism within the Canton Police, citing instances of sexist language, overstepping boundaries, bullying, and significant obstacles for women in leadership positions.

Basta argues that under the new police leadership, the management level of the Canton Police is even less diverse. For Basta, it is clear: “Sexism is not an accident, but an expression of a macho and hierarchical police culture.” The party also notes that lasting change requires fundamental alterations to leadership, promotion systems, and power structures.

LDP: “Negative Trend in Staffing Levels Stopped”

The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) acknowledges the findings of the “Schefer Report” from June 2024, which highlighted challenges within the Basel cantonal police, including high workloads and criticism of leadership, as well as allegations of discrimination. The LDP notes that the JSD took the results seriously and responded quickly.

Thanks to “targeted recruitment strategies,” the negative trend in staffing levels has been halted. The police school is once again fully staffed, supported by lateral entrants and returnees. “The reorganization and re-staffing of key positions from April 1, 2025, aim to strengthen the police’s basic provision and advance the required cultural change.”

On February 5, 2026, Basel’s Director of Security Stephanie Eymann described the external report on the personnel situation at the Basel cantonal police force as “worrying,” suggesting personnel consequences are “conceivable.”