This includes a table of administrative detention and probation orders issued over the preceding 10 years. In addition, there are tables of detention orders issued by the government broken down by various parameters, such as sex or period of detention.

As part of its official duties, the Department of Police of the Canton of Bern had a statutory obligation to report annually on its activities to the Grand Council (cantonal parliament). Administrative reports of this kind have been preserved from all cantons and many municipalities in Switzerland since the 19th century, when modern government administration systems were introduced. The reports provide insight into the activities conducted by the various offices, including information on their financial situation (sometimes published separately as annual financial statements or public accounts). Because they were prepared on an annual basis, the administrative reports constitute an important source for research into administrative practices and their evolution over time.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The information in this source provides answers to a number of quantitative questions concerning the detention practice of the cantonal authorities in Bern. How many individuals were detained in institutions by order of the Grand Council? How many of the orders were final, and how many individuals were «detained» on probation? What quantitative changes took place in detention practice over the years?

In addition to providing information on these specific questions, the annual reports also provide deeper insight into the interactions between the various administrative units that were involved in the decision-making process. This makes it possible to draw conclusions concerning the institutional framework that underlay the use of administrative detention. Thus, for example, the scope of the information provided, and the amount of detail it contains, provides an indication of the importance that the cantonal administration itself attached to the question of institutionalisation by administrative order.

ACCESS TO THE SOURCE

When the IEC commenced its research activities, the members of team working on Research Area 3 began by systematically collecting all of the available data on the use of administrative detention that is capable of quantitative analysis (e.g., detention orders issued by the Government Council). The data was grouped into five-year intervals. The next research step was to analyse the data and to correlate it with other available statistics and literature on the subject. By making use of all of the annual and other reports prepared by cantonal authorities, along with other sources, the intent is to prepare a kind of national «data structure» for study of the use of administrative detention is Switzerland. The purpose of this data structure is to provide as accurate as possible an estimate of the number of individuals who were held in administrative detention in Switzerland between the years 1930 and 1981.

M. Dal Molin/E. Guggisberg/Translation

SOURCE

Kanton Bern: Bericht über die Staatsverwaltung des Kantons Bern 1945, Bern Stämpfli & Cie. 1946.

Signature: Schweizerische Nationalbibliothek (NB): OPq 253 Rechenschaftsberichte des Regierungsrats an den Grossen Rat des Kantons Bern.

Because the administrative reports were intended from the outset for publication, they are freely accessible to the public; copies may be found, for example, in the Swiss National Library in Bern, and in the respective cantonal archives and libraries.