Police organisation
fedpol
Switzerland’s federal police office. It is expressly not a national police force, and expressly not superior to the cantonal forces that do the policing.
At a glance
- Official name
- fedpol
- Commonly rendered in English as
- Federal Office of Police — a rendering in common use, not the organisation’s own name.
- System
- Switzerland
- Level of government
- Federal
- Kind of body
- Specialist national service
- Status
- Currently operating
- Facts last checked against sources
- 13 September 2026
What it is
fedpol states the position in its own words: "Switzerland does not have a national police force", each canton is responsible for policing its own territory under its own police law, and fedpol "is not a superordinate authority, but works alongside these police forces". Its functions are limited and federal — investigations in federal jurisdiction, security duties, and national coordination. Switzerland is the clearest case in this registry of a federal body that would be badly misread as a national police service.
What it covers
Federal, and limited. Policing is primarily cantonal; fedpol does not command the cantonal forces.
Broad responsibilities
- Investigations within federal jurisdiction
- Security duties at federal level
- National coordination alongside — not above — the cantonal police forces
Elsewhere on this site
- Who polices what — how Switzerland is structured, against other systems
Where this connects
Institutions: National police.
Sources
National cooperation — fedpol (Federal Office of Police)
Federal Office of Police fedpol (fedpol.admin.ch) · Institutional (self-description) · link verified 2026-07-26
fedpol's own account (official page, obtained by search retrieval; fedpol.admin.ch pages are reorganised behind a content system). Supports that 'Switzerland does not have a national police force', that each canton is responsible for policing its own territory and has its own police law, and that fedpol 'is not a superordinate authority, but works alongside these police forces' — with limited federal functions (federal-jurisdiction investigations, security duties, national coordination). Establishes that policing is primarily cantonal and fedpol does not command the cantonal police. Structural facts only.