Measures are coming

BMI: “Certain nationalities stand out”

(Bild: APA/Hans Klaus Techt)

What remains of the crime statistics presented on Monday? Once again, the impression that a large proportion of suspected criminals come from abroad. From Germany, for example. The Ministry of the Interior does not deny this - and has now presented a five-point plan.

This primarily states that action must be taken against "foreign criminality" (Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, ÖVP) as well as "youth criminality". Both are on the rise in Austria. 45 percent of reported cases are now considered to be crimes committed by foreigners (crimes committed by non-Austrian citizens).

More and more "youngsters"
An increase can also be seen among the "young", depending on the province. Last year, juvenile crime was almost twice as high as ten years ago - however, many "digital" offenses (bullying, etc.) were added here, which are of course being reported more and more frequently thanks to WhatsApp and the like.

What does the Ministry of the Interior want to do about these developments? A five-point plan was presented on Monday, which can be derived "directly" from the crime statistics.

The five-point plan

• Criminal investigation service reform: focus on combating cybercrime. 38 criminal assistance units are to be created, with more than 700 additional jobs.
• Smuggling mafia: "Operation Fox" - deployment of 130 police officers on Hungarian territory. Establishment of a specialized anti-smuggling department in the Federal Criminal Police Office.
• Juvenile crime: establishment of a task force; working group on the issue of criminal responsibility - lowering the age of criminal responsibility, ban on knives in public places.
• Burglary crime: mandate to all provincial police directorates to set priority actions; uniformed and civilian forces.
• Crime against foreigners and aliens: Order to all provincial police directorates to set priority measures as well as to carry out structural investigations; order to the immigration authorities to consistently deport foreigners.

Firstly, 38 new criminal assistance offices in all regions of Austria with more than 700 additional jobs in the next few years, outlines Interior Minister Karner.

The pressure on the smuggling mafia relates to the second point. "The traffickers are giving Austria a wide berth," he emphasizes.

The third point concerns juvenile delinquency, such as the establishment of an appropriate task force. Discussions on the age of criminal responsibility and weapons bans would also continue.

With regard to the fourth point - burglary crime - there will be more focus operations in this area in future.

The fifth point concerns crime against foreigners. "There are certain nationalities that are conspicuous and it is also necessary to set priorities here," says Karner.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com, Krone KREATIV)

Focus on border controls
Excuse me? "Certain nationalities" should be subject to increased controls? "Yes," confirms krone.at when asked by the Ministry of the Interior. However, this has nothing to do with the infamous "ethnic profiling" (creation of offender profiles or personal checks based on origin or skin color) - because this is about border controls.

People entering Austria from certain countries (Romania, Serbia, Hungary) will therefore have to expect increased controls at Austria's borders. And probably also German citizens - because according to crime statistics, they are the second most common foreign group of suspects in Austria after Romanians.