Vienna FPÖ demands up to 1,500-euro monthly police allowance

Vienna’s Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) has renewed its demand for a special allowance of up to 1,500 euros a month for police officers serving in the city, ORF reported on Wednesday. FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp said the payment was needed to compensate officers for the demands of their work in Vienna.

Nepp cited the city’s high crime levels, frequent demonstrations and events, and the protection of embassies as duties that placed a heavy burden on police. He also called for overtime payments to be maintained.

Warning over new duty model

The FPÖ warned that a new duty-time model planned for the autumn could worsen the situation. Nepp said it might reduce the number of officers on the streets and lead to financial losses of up to 30 percent for those affected.

He said the changes were being proposed as Vienna’s police force was being “bled dry” in terms of staffing.

Stefan Berger, an FPÖ non-executive city councillor, said the staffing balance was negative because of resignations and retirements, despite recruitment figures regularly presented by the Interior Ministry that were intended to show the opposite.

Berger said Vienna faced a particularly high crime burden, noting that more than 36 percent of criminal complaints were filed in the city.