Policing in Austria

The Austria police force dates back nearly five centuries to 1569, when Vienna’s City Guard, consisting of 150 men, was formed. Almost a century later, this number had risen to over 1,000 men, organized in a regiment, which took part in military campaigns (ITA, 1993). The only drawback to this guard was the city was forced to compensate them. This eventually lead to the creation of the Public Order Watch in 1646 by the city itself, seriously clashing with the City Guard. It would be another 130 years before the clashing would cease with the creation of a new service by the commission of police in 1776. This service was made up of soldiers who failed to meet the city’s needs due to lack of training and continuity of service (ITA, 1993). Military command continued to be a domineering force over police functions until serious reforms between 1850 and 1869, with the introduction of an independent command structure, a permanent corps of police professionals, the training of officers in police skills, and distinctive uniforms and symbols of rank (ITA, 1993).
In 1850, Emperor Franz Joseph I created the Gendarmerie, consisting of eighteen regiments to serve the Ministry of the Interior. The Gendarmerie was responsible for many tasks, including protecting the borders of Austria, rescue operations, arresting armed and dangerous criminals, organized crime, providing in-flight security on Austrian Airlines Group flights, escorting money transports, and Austrian missions abroad security (OSCE, 2007). These tasks still remain an important Gendarmerie function today (ITA, 1993). In 1993, the more important law enforcement agencies were organized under the General Directorate for Public Security of the Ministry of the Interior. These agencies consisted of many dedicated individuals who balanced the line between the legal and the illegal, and protected the citizens of Austria from crime, corruption, and to ensure a civil society. The directorate is divided into five different... [continues]

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