The Federal Police ( de-AT, Bundespolizei) is the national and principal

law enforcement agency A law enforcement agency (LEA) is any government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws. Jurisdiction LEAs which have their ability to apply their powers restricted in some way are said to operate within a jurisdiction. LEAs ...

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 The Federal Gendarmerie (german: Bundesgendarmerie) was an Austrian federal police, police agency. It was responsible for approximately two thirds of the population on approximately 98% of Austrian national territory, alongside the Federal Safet ...

, which policed most of the country, and the ''Polizei'' which policed Austria’s major urban centres such as Vienna, Salzburg and

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

. The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s

border control Border control refers to measures taken by governments to monitor and regulate the movement of people, animals, and goods across land, air, and maritime borders. While border control is typically associated with international borders, it a ...

agency. The Federal Police works in partnership with 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 Provincial 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 Provincial Police Directorates. There are nine separate provincial police directorates which correspond to the nine provinces of Austria. They are as follows: * Vienna *

Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...

Carinthia Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...

* 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

baton Baton may refer to: Stick-like objects *Baton, a type of club *Baton (law enforcement) *Baston (weapon), a type of baton used in Arnis and Filipino Martial Arts *Baton charge, a coordinated tactic for dispersing crowds of people *Baton (conductin ...

s and pepper spray for use as a less lethal option. Officers may also use

Steyr AUG The Steyr AUG () is an Austrian bullpup assault rifle chambered for the 5.56×45mm NATO intermediate cartridge, designed in the 1960s by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, and now manufactured by Steyr Arms GmbH & Co KG. It was adopted by the Austrian Arm ...

assault rifle, the Heckler & Koch MP5 and other similar heavy duty weapons required for specialist operations.

Vehicles

2019 Tour of Austria – 2nd stage 20190608 (18)

Ground vehicles The ground vehicles currently used by the Federal Police include: * Volkswagen Sharan * Volkswagen Touran * Volkswagen Passat * Audi A6 * Volkswagen Golf

estate Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representat ...

* Volkswagen Multivan * Škoda Kodiaq * Volkswagen Amarok * Volkswagen Touareg * Mercedes-Benz Sprinter * Mercedes-Benz B180 * Mercedes-Benz C-Class *

Mercedes-Benz G-Class The Mercedes-Benz G-Class, sometimes colloquially called the G-Wagen (as an abbreviation of Geländewagen) is a four-wheel drive automobile manufactured by Magna Steyr (formerly Steyr-Daimler-Puch) in Austria and sold by Mercedes-Benz. Originall ...

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

* Škoda Octavia * Nissan Pathfinder * Mercedes-Benz O303 * BMW R 1200 RT *

Ducati Multistrada First introduced in 2003, the Ducati Multistrada is series of V-twin "street trailie" motorcycles. Essentially a hybrid of a supermoto and a sport-tourer, the Multistrada competes in the market with other dual-sport motorcycles such as the B ...

* Sonderwagen 4 The Federal Police experimented with a

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

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. Aircraft Aircraft currently used by the Federal Police include: * 7

Eurocopter EC135 The Eurocopter EC135 (now Airbus Helicopters H135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters (formerly known as Eurocopter). It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules (IFR) and is outfitted with ...

* 1

Bell 206 The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

* 4 Ecureuil AS 350 B1 * 2 Ecureuil AS 355 F2 * 2 Ecureuil AS 355 N

Ranks and rank insignia

;Commissioners ;Leading officers ;Supervising officers and police officers File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 4.png,

Senior Principal Legal Officer Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 3.png,

Principal Legal Officer Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the office holder/ or boss in any school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in ...

File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 2.png,

Senior Legal Officer Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 1.png,

Legal Officer Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M6.png,
Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of Interior File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M5.png,
Deputy Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of Interior File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M4.png,
Chief Surgeon File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M3.png,
Deputy Chief Surgeon File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M2.png,
Contract Surgeon
With 20 years service File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 M1.png,
Contract Surgeon

References

External links