The Federal Police ( de-AT, Bundespolizei) is the national and principal law enforcement agency of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. 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 en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

and Graz. The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s border control agency. The Federal Police works in partnership with the 19

municipal police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive funding ...

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 en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

* Styria * Carinthia *

Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...

Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...

Vorarlberg Vorarlberg ( , ; gsw, label= Vorarlbergisch, Vorarlbearg, , or ) is the westernmost state () of Austria. It has the second-smallest geographical area after Vienna and, although it also has the second-smallest population, it is the state with the ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

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 Glock is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H., Glock Ges.m.b.H. The ...

pistol in 9mm Parabellum. The most common model used are

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

and

Glock 19 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

both being the Gen 3 models while

EKO Cobra EKO Cobra (german: Einsatzkommando Cobra; "Task Force Cobra") is the police tactical unit of the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. EKO Cobra is not part of the Austrian Federal Police, but instead is directly under the control of the ...

also gain the

Glock 18 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was the ...

with full-auto capability for more firepower. Officers are also equipped with batons and

pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...

for use as a less lethal option. Officers may also use Steyr AUG assault rifle, the

Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the 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 The Volkswagen Sharan is a seven-seater minivan that was produced by the German Volkswagen Group and built at the AutoEuropa plant in Palmela, Portugal, with a front-wheel-drive version across two generations, from 1995 to 2022. Through badge engin ...

Volkswagen Touran The Volkswagen Touran is a car manufactured by German automaker Volkswagen since 2003 and sold in Europe and other select markets. A compact multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), it fills a gap in Volkswagen's model lineup between the Volkswagen Golf, w ...

Volkswagen Passat The Volkswagen Passat is a series of large family cars manufactured and marketed by the German automobile manufacturer Volkswagen since 1973, and now in its eighth generation. It has been marketed variously as the Dasher, Santana, Quantum, Mag ...

Audi A6 The Audi A6 is an executive car made by the German automaker Audi. Now in its fifth generation, the successor to the Audi 100 is manufactured in Neckarsulm, Germany, and is available in saloon and estate configurations, the latter marketed by A ...

Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/small family car (C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplates ...

estate * Volkswagen Multivan *

Škoda Kodiaq The Škoda Kodiaq is a mid-size crossover SUV manufactured by the Czech automaker Škoda Auto since 2016. The vehicle sits in Škoda's D-SUV, above the Škoda Kamiq and Škoda Karoq. The vehicle is based on the Volkswagen Group MQB platform, sha ...

Volkswagen Amarok The Volkswagen Amarok is a pickup truck produced by Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles since 2010. It is a body-on-frame truck with double-wishbone suspension at the front and leaf springs at the rear. The Amarok range consists of single cab and ...

Volkswagen Touareg The Volkswagen Touareg (German pronunciation: ) is a car produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group since 2002 at the Volkswagen Bratislava Plant. A five-seater mid-size luxury crossover SUV, the vehicle was named after the nomadic Tuareg peo ...

Mercedes-Benz Sprinter The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is a light commercial vehicle (van) built by Mercedes-Benz Group AG of Stuttgart, Germany as a large van, chassis cab, minibus, and pickup truck. In the past, the Sprinter had been sold under the Mercedes-Benz, Dod ...

Mercedes-Benz B180 The Mercedes-Benz B-Class is a subcompact executive car manufactured and marketed by Mercedes-Benz since 2005. Based on the A-Class with larger dimensions, the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) classifies it as a small MPV. As o ...

Mercedes-Benz C-Class The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a series of compact executive cars produced by Mercedes-Benz Group AG. Introduced in 1993 as a replacement for the 190 (W201) range, the C-Class was the smallest model in the marque's line-up until the W168 A-Class ...

* Mercedes-Benz G-Class * Ford Transit *

Škoda Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car produced by the Czech car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an earlier model produced between 1959 and 1971. Four generations of the modern-era Octavia model have ...

Nissan Pathfinder The Nissan Pathfinder is a range of sport utility vehicles manufactured by Nissan since 1985. The vehicle was originally sharing Nissan's compact pickup truck platform, and having been through four generations is now in its fifth incarnation. Si ...

Mercedes-Benz O303 The Mercedes-Benz O303 was an integral coach manufactured by Mercedes-Benz between 1974 and 1992. It was also available as a chassis, where the customer could choose to get the lower part of the front or even the entire front including the windscre ...

BMW R 1200 RT The BMW R1200RT is a touring or sport touring motorcycle that was manufactured from 2005 to 2019 by BMW Motorrad to replace the R1150RT model. It features a flat-twin engine with a six-speed gearbox and shaft drive. History Previous RT models, ...

* 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. Aircraft 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 ;Supervising officers and police officers File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 4.png,
Senior Principal Legal Officer File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 3.png,
Principal Legal Officer File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 2.png,
Senior Legal Officer File:Bundespolizei Österreich Kragendistinktionen 2015 A1 1.png,
Legal Officer 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