Special police unit

Minister of the Interior pledges help against hooligans

In the center of Wiener Neustadt, youth gangs (symbolic image) often cause fear among passers-by.(Bild: Neumayr/MMV)

The train station and city center are increasingly becoming problem areas - the "Youth Crime Task Force" could soon be ordered to march to Wiener Neustadt.

Wiener Neustadt must not become Reumannplatz! Under this motto, ÖVP Mayor Klaus Schneeberger recently wrote a letter to Interior Minister Gerhard Karner. He asked for support, as the security situation in the second largest city in Lower Austria is apparently tense again. The train station and city center in particular are problem areas because youth cliques are increasingly mobbing passers-by.

Check, plan, implement
Karner's reply to his party colleague came promptly. In a letter to Schneeberger, he referred to the "Youth Crime Task Force", which regularly carries out priority actions at hotspots. The minister has instructed this unit to "examine, plan and carry out" the same for Wiener Neustadt. Karner also promised to visit the area together with the head of the city and experts to get an idea of the situation.

My greatest interest is to make a timely and preventative contribution to increasing the sense of security and combating youth criminality.

Innenminister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP)

Bild: APA/GEORG HOCHMUTH

Petition for guardrooms
Meanwhile, the SPÖ is sticking to its demand that the police guardroom at the station, which was once closed under the former ÖVP Interior Minister Ernst Strasser, should be reopened. Deputy Mayor Rainer Spenger has started a petition for this on the Internet.