Federal Police (Austria)

The Federal Police (German: Bundespolizei) is the national and principal law enforcement agency of Austria. The Federal Police was formed in July 2005 as one formal unit of police. In 2005, the Federal Police replaced the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie, which policed most of the country, and the Polizei which policed Austria’s major urban centres such as Vienna, Salzburg and Graz.[1] The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s border control agency.[2] The Federal Police works in partnership with EKO Cobra, the 19 municipal police agencies and other law enforcement agencies in Austria.

Federal Police
Bundespolizei
Federal Police Logo
Agency overview
Formed1 July 2005
Employees23,000
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agencyAustria
Operations jurisdictionAustria
Governing bodyDirectorate General for Public Security
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersVienna
Director General responsible
Parent agencyMinistry of the Interior
Facilities
Stations1000+
Website
bmi.gv.at

Command structure

The Federal Police is commanded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Federal Minister of the Interior is the highest law enforcement authority. The Regional Police Directorates - established as federal authorities in the provinces - are subordinate to the Federal Minister. District administrative authorities (i.e. authorities established in the provinces for indirect federal administration) are subordinate to the Regional Police Directorates. There are nine separate regional police directorates which correspond to the nine states of Austria. They are as follows:

Dependent on the division, the districts and cities are controlled by either a District Police Command or a City Police Command. These commands then operate through several police stations throughout the state.

Equipment

The standard issue sidearm of the Austrian Federal Police officers is the Glock pistol in 9mm Parabellum. The most common model used are Glock 17 and Glock 19 both being the Gen 3 models while EKO Cobra also gain the Glock 18 with full-auto capability for more firepower. Officers are also equipped with batons and pepper spray for use as a less lethal option.[3] Officers may also use Steyr AUG assault rifle, the Heckler & Koch MP5 and other similar heavy duty weapons required for specialist operations.

Vehicles
Federal Police Volkswagen Touareg
Four Federal Police Volkswagen Transporters
Federal Police Volkswagen Touran
Federal Police Volkswagen Passat
Armoured vehicle 'Sonderwagen 4

Ground vehicles

The ground vehicles currently used by the Federal Police include:

The Federal Police experimented with a Porsche 911 in order to crack down on motorway speeding. After a six-month test phase, the Federal Police decided not to order more 911s due to fact that there was not sufficient storage space for their equipment and the high-cost of the vehicles.[4]

Aircraft[5]

Aircraft currently used by the Federal Police include:


Ranks and rank insignia
Commissioners
 
Austrian Federal Police
Generaldirektor für die öffentliche Sicherheit Landespolizei-
Direktor		 Landespolizei-
Direktor-Stellvertreter		 Abteilungsleiter Landespolizei-
direktion		 Stadthauptmann
Commissioner general of public security State commissioner Deputy state commissioner Assistant state commissioner City police commissioner
Leading officers
 
Austrian Federal Police[6]
General
Inspector general		 Generalmajor
Deputy inspector general		 Brigadier
Assistant inspector general		 Oberst
Chief superintendent		 Oberstleutnant
Superintendent		 Major
Deputy superintendent		 Hauptmann
Assistant superintendent		 Oberleutnant
Divisional superintendent		 Leutnant
Divisional assistant superintendent
Supervising officers and police officers
 
Supervising officersPolice officers
Austrian Federal Police[6]
Chefinspektor
(Fgrp 7)
Senior chief inspector		 Chefinspektor
(Fgrp 6)
Chief inspector		 Kontrollinspektor
Divisional inspector		 Abteilungs-
inspektor
Sub-divisional inspector		 Bezirksinspektor'
Station sergeant		 Gruppeninspektor
Sergeant		 Gruppeninspektor
Sergeant
Not in line of promotion		 Revierinspektor
Senior constable		 Inspektor
Constable		 Inspektor GFP
Border guard constable		 Aspirant
Probationary constable

See also

References
  1. "OSCE Policing Profile for the Austrian BundesPolizei". OSCE POLIS. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
  2. "List of national services responsible for border control" (PDF).
  3. Magazin Öffentliche Sicherheit, Ausgabe 1/2 2009: „Verhältnismäßiges Einschreiten“ (Ministry of Interior) (german)
  4. "Polizei-Porsche kommt ins Museum - oesterreich.ORF.at". wiev1.orf.at.
  5. "Austrian Flugpolizei". Bundespolizei. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  6. "Uniform-Unterscheidungszeichen (für Organe des öffentlichen Sicherheitsdienstes nach § 5 Abs. 1 Z 1 SPG ab 2015)" (PDF) (in German). Bundesministerium für Inneres. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 April 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
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