Police services

• Vienna Provincial Police Directorate (German)
• Emergency number: 133
• General information: +43 1 313 10 78-900, Monday to Friday, from 8 am to 6 pm

Offices

"Police tasks" in terms of the Austrian administration refers to all official measures which, by warning or by force, are to prevent or avert threats to and disruptions of public order.

This includes all official functions where the federal state, a province or a municipality acts as an agency of public power vis-à-vis its citizens to prevent or remove threats to or disruptions of law and order among the population, and may therefore take enforcement action if necessary. Apart from the security police tasks, other examples for police tasks in Austria are market police, sanitary police, building inspection and the policing of events.

Organisation of the Austrian federal police

The Federal Minister of the Interior is the highest law enforcement authority. The Regional Police Directorates - established as federal authorities in the provinces - are subordinate to the Federal Minister. District administrative authorities (i.e. provincial-level authorities fulfilling tasks of indirect federal administration in this field) are subordinate to the Regional Police Directorates.

Special structure in Vienna

Vienna’s special position is equally reflected in the field of security.

The Vienna Police Directorate also fulfils the tasks of a first instance law enforcement authority for the region of Vienna. As a result, the district administrative authority for Vienna, i.e. the Vienna City Administration, does not carry out any general security police tasks.

Being the seat of a regional police directorate also implies that, in accordance with sec 78d, para 2 of the Austrian Federal Constitutional Act, Vienna is not entitled to its own (municipal) corps of police officers.

The Vienna City Hall Guards are not a municipal law enforcement corps, but rather are a subdivision of Vienna’s full-time fire brigade (Municipal Department 68) and as such do not carry out any law enforcement functions. Their tasks are to provide preventive fire protection in office buildings of the City of Vienna, to assist in fire extinguishing, as well as to guard the City Hall and to provide technical assistance.