Vienna FPÖ warns new police model could reduce response forces

Vienna’s FPÖ has criticised a new police duty-hours model, saying it could leave fewer officers available for operations at the same time, ORF reported. The model is currently being tested in several districts in Austria.

FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp and Stefan Berger, a non-executive city councillor and the party’s security spokesperson, raised the concerns at a news conference on Thursday. The party said initial feedback from the two affected Vienna districts pointed to problems with the system.

Nepp said police must be available when needed. According to the FPÖ, changes to shift rotations could undermine that principle, with police reportedly warning of 11 consecutive days of duty and fewer patrol car shifts. Berger called the approach “not a security concept, but a blind flight in security policy”.

The party also said an evaluation of the model could produce a distorted picture because other districts currently provide support when forces are short in Brigittenau or Leopoldstadt. That option would disappear if the system were introduced across all 23 Vienna districts, it said. Nepp argued that areas facing a difficult security situation needed more police presence, not less, and said the FPÖ would closely monitor the rollout.

In Vienna, the model is being tested by the Brigittenau city police command, which is also responsible for neighbouring Leopoldstadt. The Interior Ministry says the new duty-time management system is intended to provide greater flexibility and make more officers available when they are needed.