International polls rank Bern as one of the safest capital cities to live in on the planet. swissinfo.ch found out what it means to feel secure there. 

Julie Hunt Lioudmila Clot

The city, with its thriving economy and excellent infrastructure, seems to offer a great quality of life. People appear to be pretty relaxed about personal safety, and burglar alarms on cars or houses are not commonplace. People often leave their belongings unattended while going for a swim in the pool or the river, while supermarkets leave goods outside the stores overnight.

From children to politicians, there’s a feeling in the air that Bern is a safe place to be, whether it’s about personal property or personal security.

Overall crime rates fell in 2016 by 2% compared with the year before, but the number of robberies increasedExternal link by 10%. While most people we talked to thought there was nothing to fear in the Swiss capital, one woman described an attack she experienced. Even so, Bern is statistically safer than Switzerland’s other cities, such as Geneva, Zurich, Lausanne and Basel, when it comes to violent crime. (Julie Hunt/Lioudmila Clot, swissinfo.ch)