Tyrol police defend new duty system against savings criticism

Tyrol’s state police directorate has presented details of a new duty scheduling system planned to begin in April 2027, ORF reported. State Police Director Helmut Tomac said the model would organise shifts more efficiently and allow officers to volunteer for overtime.

The changes are intended to provide greater flexibility and more efficient procedures, while police presence at stations is not expected to change, according to the Tyrol police. The system is to be introduced gradually after its planned launch.

Tomac rejected criticism that the reform amounted to cost-cutting. “The federal government’s joint budget for 2027 and 2028 provides the same funds for overtime as at present,” he said. “Only the system is different now.”

He said the new model would give officers more flexibility and opportunities to influence their schedules. More flexible planning would also make it easier to set policing priorities, he said.

According to Tomac, the system is to be introduced nationwide over the next two years. He described the scale of the reform as “historic” and said the model had originally been considered in 2012, when Austria’s then 68 police directorates were merged into nine state police directorates.

Tomac said the new system would replace an existing arrangement that had been “not very efficient” overall. Police expect the changes to improve the management of shifts and provide more options for planning operations and policing priorities.

A trial of the new duty scheduling system is due to begin on Tuesday in the Leibnitz district of Styria. Before the trial, Styrian police also sought to dispel concerns about cuts at police stations.