Crime in Austria is combated by a range of Austrian law enforcement agencies.
Crime in Austria is combated by a range of Austrian law enforcement agencies.
In 2017, Austria (with a population of about 8.795 million) had an intentional homicide rate of 0.61 per 100,000 population - one of the lowest rates in the world. There were a total of 54 intentional homicides in Austria in 2017. [1]
Pickpockets and purse snatchers can be found in the highly populated areas, including areas frequented by tourists, bus and train stations, and on subways. [2] Residential burglaries are a significant concern, especially in the more affluent areas. [2] The US government rates Vienna as being "medium" for levels of residential crime. [2]
In 2004 Austria had the lowest rates of car theft in the EU. [3]
Austria has a well-developed institutional and legal system, and most corruption cases under investigation by a parliamentary committee end with judicial trials and effective judgments. Several significant Austrian corruption cases took place during the 2000s involving land and regional officials, high-level public officials, the central government and, in one instance, the former Chancellor. [4]
In most cases, corrupt practices were related to conflicts of interest, abuse of office, money laundering and influence peddling. The corruption scandals have put into doubt the ethical standards of the political elite. [4] This doubt is reflected in the findings of Eurobarometer 2012, where two-thirds of respondents perceive national politicians to be corrupt and also the most corrupt institution in Austria. [5]
Austria has several cases and issues with rape crimes, compareble with Germany and Sweden. Most of the crimes was made by non-Austrian citizens and the number has increased since 2015.
In 25 June 2021, 13 year old girl Leonie was found dead in Vienna at an apartment. She was drugged and gang raped by 3 Afghans until she passed out and died. Then the offenders rolled her in the carpet and tossed it on the tree where she were found dead next morning. All 3 offenders were arrested and sented to life in prison. One of the offenders claimed that she was his girlfriend. This case received significant media attention not only in Austria, but also in Germany (where one of Leonie's parents was originally from) and Switzerland. The episode also contributed to changing the view of Austrian society towards immigrants. The then-chancellor Sebastian Kurz said, "We don't want to have such sick ideologies in our country". [6]
In March 2024, another brutal rape case was reported when a 12 year old girl from Vienna was drugged and gang raped several times by 17 offenders. Beginning after she met a 17 year old Turkish male and fell in love with him, she was later abused by other offenders of Turkish, Bulgarian and Syrian origin. Though she did not report this abuse initially due to gang harassment, police eventually arrested 17 offenders. The case in ongoing, as some offenders have been found not guilty. At least one suspect has since fled to Bulgaria. [7]
Austria is targeted by foreign criminals, with 64 percent of drug-related offences being carried out by criminals who are born abroad. According to British criminal Colin Blaney in his autobiography Undesirables, British thieves and confidence tricksters have targeted Austria on account of the fact that it is viewed as a soft touch due to its relatively low crime rates. [8]
Most criminal activity is focused in the larger metropolitan areas. [2]
Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which law enforcement officers end up breaking their political contract and abusing their power for personal gain. This type of corruption may involve one or a group of officers. Internal police corruption is a challenge to public trust, cohesion of departmental policies, human rights and legal violations involving serious consequences. Police corruption can take many forms, such as bribery.
Articles related to criminology and law enforcement.
Crime in Japan has been recorded since at least the 1800s, and has varied over time.
Crime in Sweden is defined by the Swedish Penal Code and in other Swedish laws and statutory instruments.
A drug-related crime is a crime to possess, manufacture, or distribute drugs classified as having a potential for abuse. Drugs are also related to crime as drug trafficking and drug production are often controlled by drug cartels, organised crime and gangs. Some drug-related crime involves crime against the person such as robbery or sexual assaults.
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Crime in Poland refers to the incidence, deterrence, and handling of criminal activity in the Republic of Poland by Polish law enforcement agencies charged with ensuring public safety and maintaining order. Poland ranks favorably in terms of public safety, with one of the lowest homicide rates in Europe. Poland was ranked 25th in the 2022 Global Peace Index and scored 0.0 on the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.
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Crime in Germany is handled by the German police forces and other agencies.
Crime in France is combated by a range of French law enforcement agencies.
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Corruption in Slovenia is examined on this page.
Austria has a well-developed institutional and legal system, and most corruption cases under investigation by a parliamentary committee end with judicial trials and effective judgments. However, there are several significant Austrian corruption cases which have taken place during the past decade involving land and regional officials, high-level public officials, the central government and, in one instance, the former Chancellor.
Crime in Finland is combated by the Finnish police and other agencies.
Organised crime in Indonesia refers to planned crimes in Indonesia that could be perpetrated by either a political party or Indonesian gangs, also referred to as preman. The illegal activities may include corruption, cybercrime, money laundering, violence, felonies, extortion, racketeering and drug trafficking.
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