Law enforcement in Austria

An Austrian Police car in the new Federal Police livery

Law enforcement in Austria is the responsibility of the Directorate General for Public Security, a subdivision of the Federal Ministry of the Interior located at Herrengasse 7 in Vienna.

Law enforcement in Austria underwent restructuring on 1 July 2005. The public security police, the criminal investigation service and the Bundesgendarmerie were consolidated and organized into nine federal state commands.^[1]

Over 20,000 police officers are on duty in the Federal Police at more than 1,000 police stations. On lakes and rivers the federal police has over 70 boats and other craft to act as the Water police.

The phone number 059133 connects you to the nearest police station anywhere in Austria. The emergency number is 133.

Law enforcement agencies

Federal

• Bundesministerium für Finanzen (BMF): Federal Ministry of Finance
  • Finanzpolizei: Financial Guard
  • Operative Zollaufsicht (OZA): Customs Service
• Bundesministerium für Inneres (BMI): Federal Ministry of the Interior
  • Bundesamt zur Korruptionsprävention und Korruptionsbekämpfung (BAK): Federal Bureau to prevent and to fight corruption
  • Generaldirektion für öffentliche Sicherheit (GDföS): Directorate General for Public Security
    • Bundeskriminalamt (BK): Federal Investigation Bureau
    • Bundespolizei: Federal Police Service, divided into 83 district police commands and 27 city police commands
      • Alpinpolizei: Mountain Police in ski ressorts, part of Federal Police
      • Bereitschaftseinheit Wien: Standby Police Unit for Vienna
      • Einsatzeinheit: Riot Police of Federal Police
      • See- und Stromdienst: River branch of Federal Police
      • Sonderdienste Sektor: SWAT unit of Federal Police in Graz
      • WEGA: SWAT unit of Federal Police in Vienna
    • Einsatzkommando Cobra (EKO Cobra): Federal SWAT and special forces unit
    • Flugpolizei: Air Police,
    • Sondereinheit für Observation (SEO): Special Unit for Covered Technical Surveillance
• Bundesministerium für Justiz (BMJ): Federal Ministry of Justice
  • Justizwache (JW): Penitentiary Police
    • Justizwache Einsatzgruppe (JEG): SWAT Team of Penitentiary Police
• Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung und Sport (BMLVS): Federal Ministry of Defence
  • Militärstreife: Military Police of the Austrian Armed Forces

Municipialities

• Stadtpolizei: Municipal Police, in 21 municipalities
• Ordnungswache or Ordnungsamt: municipal law enforcement, in unincorporated cities, that are not allowed to have a Stadtpolizei, like Graz and Klagenfurt
• Straßenaufsicht: municipal traffic enforcement

See also

• Anti-corruption agency
• Crime in Austria
• List of law enforcement agencies

References

1. AUSTRIA‘S NEW POLICE FORCE, http://www.bundespolizei.gv.at/all/broschueren/broschuere-english.pdf

External links

• (German) Bundeskriminalamt
• (German) Polizei