Mounted police in Austria

Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt , this is where the mounted police unit should be stationed during the trial run

A mounted police in Austria does not exist in the present. There was a mounted police unit of the Austrian Federal Police , which had been in the training company since 2018 , which was assigned to the Directorate for Special Units in the Federal Ministry of the Interior . As the official name for the planned trial operation, police riders were under discussion. On November 27, 2019, however, the Interior Ministry of the Federal Government Bierlein announced that the mounted police project initiated under the previous government would not start its trial operation, but would be discontinued due to the high costs.

History and Development

1869 to 1950

Mounted executive units already existed in Austria when the security guard was set up in Vienna in 1869 . The gendarmerie also had mounted units. After the Second World War , however, these were gradually disbanded until the last cavalry squadron of the security guard in Graz finally ended their service in 1950 .

Development since the 2000s

In the 2000s and 2010s, the FPÖ and ÖVP repeatedly called for the establishment of a mounted police unit for service in Vienna (especially on the Danube Island ). The Vienna State Police Directorate sometimes uses bicycles instead of horses for patrol duty on the Danube Island and in other appropriate areas , a total of 50 in 2016. Most recently in 2010, the then incumbent Interior Minister Maria Fekter examined the establishment of an equestrian relay, but the project was not pursued any further.

Procurement under Herbert Kickl (Minister of the Interior, December 2017 - May 2019)

Interior Minister Herbert Kickl during the visit of the equestrian relay in Munich in February 2018

Shortly after Herbert Kickl took office as Minister of the Interior in the Federal Government Kurz I in December 2017, the establishment of the mounted police was discussed intensively in January and February 2018, based on a report published by the daily Kurier at the beginning of January . A preliminary highlight was Herbert Kickl's visit to the Bavarian Police's cavalry in Munich . Kickl announced that he wanted to complete the planning for the equestrian squadron in Vienna by mid-2018 and start a trial operation with initially twelve animals in summer 2019 at the latest.

In May 2018, the courier published a report according to which the annual costs of the equestrian relay would be up to 450,000 euros, which contradicted the costs estimated by the Ministry of the Interior of around 350,000 to 400,000 euros and the costs estimated by the FPÖ of around 45,000 euros . The Ministry of the Interior stated that it was an outdated paper from the Vienna police and announced a counter-proposal. Details from this revised paper were also published by the courier in July 2018. In the very detailed planning, in addition to possible areas of application, the size of the rider's squadron, the location, requirements for the riders and the question of costs were dealt with. The Ministry of the Interior estimated the cost of the trial run to be around 500,000 euros, but without including the cost of the stables.

In June 2018, the first of a total of twelve horses intended for the unit was purchased, and the Ministry of the Interior received two horses as a gift from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán . The two black horses Zalan and Zadar, who were given as gifts, were in poor health and one horse later had to be exchanged.

Originally the establishment of the unit at the State Police Directorate Vienna was planned; however, in August 2018 it was announced that the unit would be subordinate to the Directorate for Special Forces in the Ministry of the Interior. For training officer sent by September 1, 2018 in addition to Armed Forces - Lieutenant Colonel Roland Pulsinger of Police Lieutenant Colonel ordered Thomas Maier.

In September 2018, the training of the ten horses and 19 riders that had already been purchased began at the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt . Already in the summer of 2018 there was an accident during riding training, in which a policewoman was seriously injured. In the final stage, 12 to 14 horses should be available for the trial run of the rider relay.

Kickl was dismissed as interior minister in May 2019 during the government crisis triggered by the Ibiza affair . The FPÖ subsequently lost government responsibility. The Bierlein government was installed as a transitional government and an early National Council election took place in November 2019 .

Dissolution under the Bierlein government (from November 2019)

The Bierlein government announced on November 27, 2019 that the project would be discontinued before the trial operation began due to the high costs and that the mounted police would not be introduced. The horses that have already been purchased are to be given to an animal welfare organization.

According to Kurier, around 2.5 million euros in expenses had been incurred by summer 2019.

...

criticism

The animal welfare organization Vier Pfoten and Pfotenhilfe has criticized the fact that the use of horses in the executive service contradicts the animals' natural instinct to flee and exposes the animals to unnecessary stress.

The clubs of the parties SPÖ , Greens and Neos in the Vienna City Council passed a resolution against the mounted police in Vienna. Here too, the lack of consideration of animal welfare aspects, the costs of removing contamination from the horses and the dangers for police officers and third parties who could be harmed by the horses were criticized. In addition, reference was made to the Vienna Justice Palace fire in July 1927 when, among other things, mounted police attacked the demonstrating crowd during the riots in Vienna. The deployment of mounted police forces in demonstrations is therefore a sensitive and historically charged topic.

The ÖVP district head of the Inner City district , Markus Figl , also criticized the use of horses because of the high repair and maintenance costs that would be caused by damage to the road surface.

Location and organization

The trial operation was to be organized from the Theresian Military Academy in Wiener Neustadt, although the Interior Ministry assessed this location as only conditionally suitable . At the start of training at the beginning of September 2018, 19 officers and ten horses were assigned to the mounted police. The animals and officials were selected by a three-person commission.

There were no announcements about the planned organizational structure of the mounted police. When asked whether it should also be used outside Vienna, the Ministry of the Interior emphasized in July 2018 that it should be an Austria-wide project.

The mounted police, like any other police unit, should have its own paging name and unit badge.

tasks

The planned areas of responsibility for the trial operation were patrol duty, planned on Mariahilfer Strasse , the Prater as well as the Praterstern and the Danube Island. The unit should also be used at sporting events, property protection, searches for people and for representative occasions. Contrary to initial assumptions, there was no mention of a deployment in demonstrations.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Andreas Edler: FPÖ demands mounted police officers on the Danube Island. In: mein district.at. April 25, 2016, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Fekter examines mounted police for Vienna. In: oe24.at. June 29, 2010, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
3. ^ Minister checks mounted police for Vienna. In: wien.orf.at. Österreichischer Rundfunk, January 4, 2018, accessed on September 7, 2018 . 
4. ↑ Mounted Police: Kickl swings into the saddle. In: kurier.at. February 15, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
5. ↑ Dominik Schreiber, Lisa Rieger: Mounted police will be more expensive than planned. In: kurier.at. May 24, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b} Michaela Reibenwein: 150-page concept for mounted people: "Robust riders" wanted. In: kurier.at. July 9, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
7. ↑ Mounted police have their first horse. In: wien.orf.at. Österreichischer Rundfunk, June 22, 2018, accessed on September 7, 2018 . 
8. ↑ Orban gives Kickl two horses. In: kleinezeitung.at. July 27, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
9. ↑ Mounted Police: Lame Orban horses before exchange. In: The Standard. March 29, 2019, accessed March 19, 2019 . 
10. ↑ ^{a b c} Mounted police will not be introduced. In: orf.at , November 27, 2019, accessed on November 28, 2019.
11. ↑ Dominik Schreiber: After the breakdown series: new boss for the mounted police. In: kurier.at. August 1, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
12. ↑ It starts for the mounted police. In: news.at. September 1, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
13. ↑ "Mounted Police": Search for a hostel for horses orf.at, November 28, 2019, accessed December 29, 2019.
14. ↑ Mounted police: Vier Pfoten starts online petition against FPÖ plans. In: vienna.at. January 18, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
15. ^ Mounted police in Vienna: Pfotenhilfe sees cruelty to animals in a planned project. In: vienna.at. January 8, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
16. ^ Local council: Resolution against police horses. In: wien.orf.at. Österreichischer Rundfunk, February 24, 2018, accessed on September 7, 2018 . 
17. ↑ Vienna's police will soon be kept busy. In: nachrichten.at. February 12, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
18. ↑ Mounted Police: Round two for human applicants. In: diepresse.com. August 7, 2018, accessed September 7, 2018 . 
19. ↑ derstandard.at - "Mounted Police: Training start with ten horses and 19 riders"