OÖ / LINZ. The “Police Stand-by Unit” project ended after two years. The Upper Austrian state parliament president Wolfgang Stanek and the ÖVP members Josef Rathgeb and Anton Froschauer are now calling for the special group to be reintroduced. They have already had a conversation with the State Police Director Andreas Pilsl.
While there were first movements at the beginning of the year to revive the concept of the rapid reaction force, there is now silence around the project. “This unit needs to resume service as soon as possible. There must be no standstill in the area of security at any time, ”say the Upper Austrian state parliament president Wolfgang Stanek and the ÖVP members Josef Rathgeb and Anton Froschauer. You criticize the fact that the shortage of staff was brought forward in 2018. “However, the tasks of a separate standby unit for Upper Austria are increasing and must be covered by the police. In Upper Austria we have two excellent training facilities that constantly train police officers. The supply for a standby unit of its own is thus secured, ”the politicians are convinced.
Separate posts are to be created for unity
You had a conversation with Upper Austria’s State Police Director Andreas Pilsl. His key messages: Such a force would be deployed in three areas – in the area of security such as demonstrations, in public places such as train stations and parks, but also in the event of a medium risk. About 60 items are currently approved for this purpose. But you would need at least 80 police officers. The politicians are therefore calling for separate posts to be provided. Officials are not intended to be withdrawn directly from police inspections, which is the case with current special forces.
–
