Vienna police deploy reinforcements to tackle youth crime

Vienna police have been receiving daily reinforcements from other Austrian states since the beginning of August, ORF reported. Twenty-four officers from Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Burgenland and Styria are being deployed in the capital on a rotating, daily basis, with a focus on combating youth crime.

According to the Interior Ministry, the officers work at night across Vienna because more people are out in public later during the summer and school holidays. Temporary deployments between Austria’s states are not new and take place regularly across the country, the ministry said.

Many officers from across Austria volunteered for the temporary assignments in Vienna. From September, the deployments are expected to last up to three months instead of being limited to individual days. The Interior Ministry said this would be more practical and economical and expects the demand could still be met by volunteers.

All officers are assigned to Vienna’s rapid-response unit, which will coordinate citywide operations. The number of reinforcements is then expected to rise to 48, with officers coming from Burgenland, Carinthia, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Salzburg and Styria.