Racist Chats Among Lausanne Police An Isolated Case In Switzerland?

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) For the first time, a culture of discrimination and systematic racism has been found within a Swiss police force – is Lausanne a one-off case? This content was published on August 27, 2025 - 14:23 7 minutes

I write original and in-depth data-driven articles using my skills in data analysis and visualisation. I cover a wide array of topics, among which are Switzerland's place in global trade, climate change and demographics. Born and raised in France, I studied international relations in Lyon, then graduated from Lille journalism school in 2011. I have been living in Switzerland since 2012 and worked at RTS for eight years before joining SWI swissinfo in 2020.

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I work as editor and correspondent at the Federal Palace. I report on Swiss politics for the Swiss Abroad and manage our political talk show Let's Talk. I started in local journalism in the early nineties and have worked in many journalistic fields, held management positions and covered a range of topics. I joined SWI swissinfo in 2017.

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The content of recently uncovered WhatsApp chats shared between some members of Lausanne's police cover the entire spectrum of discrimination: racism, sexist“jokes”, homophobic remarks, glorification of Nazism and the Ku Klux Klan. People with disabilities also come in for ridicule.

That the messages came to light this week is thanks to the work of the attorney general's office. It started with a photo, showing a Lausanne police officer in front of a graffiti reading“RIP Mike” – a tag commemorating Mike Ben Peter, a dark-skinned man from Nigeria who died in a violent police operation in 2018. The policeman in the photo is raising his thumb.

One in 10 officers

After Swiss public broadcaster, RTS, published the photo, the public prosecutor got involved and seized the mobile phone of the officer. There, private chat groups were found in which 48 members of the Lausanne police force were active – 10% of the entire corps.

The photo which started the investigations. RTS

It was an open secret for many that there was a problematic subculture within this particular force. Frédéric Maillard, an expert who has spent decades developing police training modules, told RTS he had“been pointing out abuses and racism within the Lausanne police force since 2005”. Up to now, he said,“there has been a lack of evidence”.

Maillard is currently working with the Lausanne police on a transformation process that was initiated after senior officers recognised the extent of the culture and took action.

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