After the attack

Graz ticket inspectors to get bodycams

An escalation occurred on a line 4 bus during a check on Thursday afternoon(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

After an attack on a 28-year-old ticket inspector in Graz, there are calls for better protection for staff: Will all employees soon get a bodycam?

On Thursday afternoon, a 28-year-old found out just how dangerous the job of a ticket inspector can be: On line 4 to Reininghaus, he asked a 20-year-old passenger for his ticket. Both got off at Jauerburggasse. The drunk man from Graz attacked the ticket inspector and hit him several times on the head. He was slightly injured and had to be treated at the LKH.

The fare dodger tried to flee, but the police were able to arrest him. He is now in Graz-Jakomini prison.

Aggression on the rise
The attack is a terrible isolated incident, "a madness", says Alexander Lozinsek, Managing Director of the Graz Parking and Security Service (GPS). However, it is also symptomatic of a development that Lozinsek is observing with concern: "Unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that aggression, including verbal aggression, against our employees is on the rise." Although physical attacks do not occur "on a daily or weekly basis", they do happen time and again.

Whether ticket inspectors or parking attendants: unfortunately, our employees are learning to deal with verbal abuse.

Alexander Lozinsek, Geschäftsführer des Grazer Parkraum- und Sicherheitsservice

Bild: GPS

This is why GPS is currently looking into equipping each of its employees with a bodycam, i.e. a camera directly on the body. "This still needs to be clarified legally and with Holding Graz as the client. But we hope that someone will then think twice before attacking a ticket inspector."

Police help with training
Most buses and coaches are equipped with cameras anyway, and GPS employees are also trained in de-escalation by the police. "We will also definitely sharpen up our training," says Alexander Lozinsek. "You have to know exactly how to react correctly to aggression on a crowded bus." Lozinsek is also concerned: "We receive a lot of emails that often border on the criminally relevant."