Swiss Health & Tranquility Law Sparks “Desperate” Snitching To Counter Lockdown-Deniers

A post-corona world has given rise to corona-moral shaming is translating into people snooping and snitching on their neighbors who break social distancing rules to police and town authorities.

Folks in Switzerland have taken snooping and snitching to an entirely different level during lockdowns, as many have used private detectives to do their dirty work, reported Reuters. 

Christian Sideris, the founder of Seeclop, a Geneva-based private eye, has said requests for snooping on neighbors have been extraordinary, considering people have been confined to their homes for at least a month, many are living in frustrations of others around them.  

“We have a lot of these types of cases because people are confined and on top of each other all day,” Sideris said, describing some callers as “desperate.”

He said requests to snoop on neighbors in pre-corona times was generally 2-4 times per year, but since the lockdown, he said his phone has been ringing non-stop. 

“The Swiss are known for complaining about their neighbors, often using rules designed to keep the noise down. These are rigorously enforced in Geneva, where 16th Century protestant reformer John Calvin banned instrumental music when he was in charge,” Reuters noted. 

Geneva’s Public Health and Tranquility Law are relatively strict, and people generally use these rules to enforce peace and quiet among neighborhoods. In some cases, playing a musical instrument or doing home construction after 9 pm can result in a $10,000 fine. 

Police said noise complaints have doubled in April to 1,233 during the lockdowns. People have called the cops on their neighbors for kids playing soccer inside and late-night home improvements. It was even to the point, police said that someone called them as a neighborhood choir, intended to lift spirits, was singing to loud.

Snooping and snitching are not just limited to parts of Europe, but we have explained before, the US government has asked citizens to do the spying for them. We have covered this topic on several occasions, read “Concerned Citizens Or Rats? Americans Snitch On Local Businesses & Neighbors Amid Shutdowns” and “”Just Snap A Photo” – De Blasio Explains How To Snitch On Fellow New Yorkers Breaking Social Distancing Rules.”