Federal Police (Austria)
Federal Police Bundespolizei | |
---|---|
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1 July 2005 |
Employees | 23,000 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Federal agency | Austria |
Operations jurisdiction | Austria |
Governing body | Directorate General for Public Security |
General nature |
|
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Vienna |
Director General responsible | |
Parent agency | Ministry of the Interior |
Facilities | |
Stations | 1000+ |
Website | |
bmi.gv.at |
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.
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:
- Vienna
- Styria
- Carinthia
- Salzburg
- Lower Austria
- Upper Austria
- Vorarlberg
- Tyrol
- Burgenland
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[]
Ground vehicles
The ground vehicles currently used by the Federal Police include:
- Volkswagen Sharan
- Volkswagen Touran
- Volkswagen Passat
- Audi A6
- Volkswagen Golf estate
- Volkswagen Multivan
- Škoda Kodiaq
- Volkswagen Amarok
- Volkswagen Touareg
- Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
- Mercedes-Benz B180
- Mercedes-Benz C-Class
- Mercedes-Benz G-Class
- Ford Transit
- Škoda Octavia
- Nissan Pathfinder
- Mercedes-Benz O303
- BMW R 1200 RT
- Ducati Multistrada
- Sonderwagen 4
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:
- 7 Eurocopter EC135
- 1 Bell 206
- 4 Ecureuil AS 350 B1
- 2 Ecureuil AS 355 F2
- 2 Ecureuil AS 355 N
Ranks and rank insignia[]
- Commissioners
- Leading officers
General officers | Senior officers | Junior 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 officers | Police 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 |
Hofrat
Oberrat
Rat
Kommissär
Chefarzt
Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of InteriorChefarzt-Stellvertreter
Deputy Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of InteriorChefarzt
Chief SurgeonChefarzt-Stellvertreter
Deputy Chief SurgeonVertragsarzt
Contract Surgeon
With 20 years serviceVertragsarzt
Contract Surgeon
See also[]
- EKO Cobra
References[]
- ^ "OSCE Policing Profile for the Austrian BundesPolizei". OSCE POLIS. Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2008-03-30.
- ^ "List of national services responsible for border control" (PDF).
- ^ Magazin Öffentliche Sicherheit, Ausgabe 1/2 2009: „Verhältnismäßiges Einschreiten“ (Ministry of Interior) (german)
- ^ "Polizei-Porsche kommt ins Museum - oesterreich.ORF.at". wiev1.orf.at.
- ^ "Austrian Flugpolizei". Bundespolizei. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
- ^ Jump up to: a b "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.
External links[]
- Federal law enforcement agencies of Austria