Key facts
The Federal Act on Measures to Safeguard Internal Security obliges the Confederation to take preventive police protection measures to protect the federal authorities, persons protected under international law and permanent diplomatic missions. The Federal Office of Police (fedpol) delegates this task to the cantonal and city police forces. For embassy protection, fedpol is supported by the Joint Operations Command of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS). If a force takes on such tasks on a large scale, the Confederation concludes an agreement with the relevant canton or city and pays compensation. In 2022, this compensation totalled around CHF 74.1 million. The Geneva cantonal police force also receives an annual payment of CHF 1 million from the State Secretariat of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). This is based on the provisions of the Host State Act.