Federal Police (Austria)

The Federal Police (Austrian German: Bundespolizei, pronounced [ˈbʊndəspoliˌtsaɪ] ^ⓘ) is the national and principal law enforcement agency of Austria. The Federal Police was formed in July 2005 as one formal unit of police. In 2005, the Federal Police replaced the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie, which policed most of the country, and the Polizei which policed Austria’s major urban centres such as Vienna, Salzburg and Graz.^[1] The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s border control agency.^[2] The Federal Police works in partnership with the 19 municipal police agencies and other law enforcement agencies in Austria.

Federal Police officers

Federal Police Bundespolizei
Agency overview
Formed	1 July 2005
Preceding agency	Gendarmerie (1849-2005)
Employees	30,900
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction	Austria
Governing body	Directorate General for Public Security
General nature	Civilian police
Facilities
Stations	1000+
Website
bmi.gv.at

Not to be confused with Federal Police (Germany).

History

In October 2021, the FP unveiled the Schnelle Interventionsgruppe (SIG) or the Rapid Intervention Group as a response to concerns that police response to serious incidents cannot be mobilized on time.^[3] The SIG was deployed in various cities in Austria.^[3] The SIG is under the Schnellen Reaktionskräfte (SRK) or Rapid Reaction Force with the Bereitschaftseinheit (BE) or the Standby Unit.^[4]

Command structure

The Federal Police is commanded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior. The Federal Minister of the Interior is the highest law enforcement authority. The Provincial Police Directorates - established as federal authorities in the provinces - are subordinate to the Federal Minister. District administrative authorities (i.e. authorities established in the provinces for indirect federal administration) are subordinate to the Provincial Police Directorates. There are nine separate provincial police directorates which correspond to the nine provinces of Austria:

• Vienna
• Styria
• Carinthia
• Salzburg
• Lower Austria
• Upper Austria
• Vorarlberg
• Tyrol
• Burgenland

  

  Federal Police Volkswagen Touran

Dependent on the division, the districts and cities are controlled by either a District Police Command or a City Police Command. These commands then operate through several police stations throughout the state.

Equipment

Weapon	Origin	Type
Glock 17	Austria	Standard issue sidearm
Glock 19
Glock 18		Reserved for EKO Cobra
Steyr AUG		In use
Heckler & Koch MP5	Germany

Officers are also equipped with batons and pepper spray for use as a less lethal option.^[5]

Ranks and rank insignia

Commissioners

Austrian Federal Police[6]
	Generaldirektor für die öffentliche Sicherheit	Landespolizei- Direktor	Landespolizei- Direktor-Stellvertreter	Abteilungsleiter Landespolizei- direktion	Stadthauptmann
	Commissioner general of public security	State commissioner	Deputy state commissioner	Assistant state commissioner	City police commissioner

Leading officers

	General officers						Senior officers						Junior officers
Austrian Federal Police[7]
	General Inspector general		Generalmajor Deputy inspector general		Brigadier Assistant inspector general		Oberst Chief superintendent		Oberstleutnant Superintendent		Major Deputy superintendent		Hauptmann Assistant superintendent		Oberleutnant Divisional superintendent			Leutnant Divisional assistant superintendent

Supervising officers and police officers

	Supervising officers																						Police officers
Austrian Federal Police[7]
	Chefinspektor (Fgrp 7) Senior chief inspector			Chefinspektor (Fgrp 6) Chief inspector			Kontrollinspektor Divisional inspector		Abteilungs- inspektor Sub-divisional inspector		Bezirksinspektor' Station sergeant						Gruppeninspektor (E2a) Sergeant						Gruppeninspektor Sergeant Not in line of promotion				Revierinspektor Senior constable		Inspektor Constable						Inspektor GFP Border guard constable	Aspirant Probationary constable

• Rank insignia of Legal officers
• 
  Hofrat
  Senior Principal Legal Officer
• 
  Oberrat
  Principal Legal Officer
• 
  Rat
  Senior Legal Officer
• 
  Kommissär
  Legal Officer

• Rank insignia of Police surgeons
• 
  Chefarzt^[6]
  Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of Interior
• 
  Chefarzt-Stellvertreter^[6]
  Deputy Chief Surgeon of the Ministry of Interior
• 
  Chefarzt^[6]
  Chief Surgeon
• 
  Chefarzt-Stellvertreter^[6]
  Deputy Chief Surgeon
• 
  Vertragsarzt^[6]
  Contract Surgeon
  With 20 years service
• 
  Vertragsarzt^[6]
  Contract Surgeon

• Rank insignia of Police pastors
• 
  Bundeskurat^[6]
• 
  Landeskurat^[6]
• 
  Bereichskurat^[6]

• Rank insignia of Police musicians
• 
  Kapellmeister^[7]
• 
  Gastmusiker^[7]

Historical ranks

• 
  Ranks of the Federal Police guard body^[8]
• 
  Ranks for legal and police medical services and other uniformed staff^[8]

See also

• EKO Cobra