Police arrest five in youth crime operation in Vienna

Police detained five people under immigration law provisions during a targeted operation against youth crime at Heiligenstadt railway station in Vienna’s Döbling district, ORF reported. The action followed a series of robberies and violent offences in the area.

About 30 officers from several police units carried out the operation on Thursday. They conducted 102 identity checks, issued 27 administrative penalty notices and filed 85 reports related to traffic offences, police said on Friday.

Group of young offenders identified

The task force responsible for combating youth crime recently identified and reported 12 young people aged between 13 and 17 in Döbling. The group included Syrian, Afghan and Austrian nationals.

Police attributed 20 offences to the group, including robberies, dangerous threats, assaults and violations of weapons laws. Most of the offences allegedly occurred near schools and around the railway station. Some of those involved also had to serve prison sentences.

Hundreds of operations across Austria

The task force was established in March 2024 under the leadership of the Federal Criminal Police Office. According to the authorities, it focuses on prolific juvenile offenders, some of whom are reportedly responsible for up to 200 offences from the age of under 14.

Hundreds of targeted operations in cities and crime hotspots across Austria have so far resulted in more than 1,600 arrests, including 193 people under 18. Authorities have filed more than 13,000 reports, 3,300 of them against people under 18, and seized 210 weapons, including 63 from minors.

“Violence, disorder and vandalism by youth gangs have no place on our streets and squares,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner was quoted as saying in connection with the operation. Dieter Csefan, Vienna’s deputy police president, said youth crime was a challenge that had to be tackled consistently and jointly.