Uster police scandal: Parliament unanimously votes for parliamentary investigation
The Uster City Parliament has voted 31–0 to request the establishment of a Parliamentary Investigation Commission to examine the police scandal. The focus is on budget overruns exceeding 1.4 million francs.
Unanimous resolution: Uster calls for parliamentary inquiry into police scandal
Google News CH — Crime (de) reports: At its first session since the police scandal came to light, the Uster City Parliament passed a motion requesting the establishment of a Parliamentary Investigation Commission (PUK) with a vote of 31–0 and four abstentions. The municipal council's executive board now has six months to prepare a corresponding report and proposal. Whether the PUK will actually be established will be decided by Parliament at a later date.
According to the municipal council's regulatory rules, it can establish a PUK "to clarify events of major significance". The body consists of members of Parliament and independently obtains the necessary information for assessment.
The PUK is to clarify, among other things, how the city police came to exceed its budget by approximately 1.4 million francs. Additionally, it should investigate why invoices totalling approximately half a million francs were allegedly to be split up. According to the SVP/EDU parliamentary group, which had submitted the motion, this would have circumvented existing financial authority limits.
The scandal has occupied Uster for months. Allegedly financed have been, among other things, a four-wheel-drive vehicle, street barriers, an app and operational trousers worth nearly 250,000 francs. The police commander in charge was dismissed in spring after the city council withdrew its confidence in him.
The city council and municipal council filed a criminal complaint against unknown persons on suspicion of breaching official confidentiality. The complaint is directed against individuals who allegedly passed confidential documents to the media.
Last week, the city administration temporarily withdrew political responsibility for the security department from city councillor Beatrice Caviezel (GLP). She is said to have herself signed off on split invoices in at least one case, thereby approving a purchase for which she lacked the authority. The city council also announced an external investigation of the matter.
Source: Google News CH — Crime (de)