Fake detectives in Vienna: prison sentences of several years imposed!

Fake detectives in Vienna: prison sentences of several years imposed!

In a sensational trial at the Vienna court, prison sentences of several years were handed down to three men who had posed as fake detectives. A 41-year-old defendant was sentenced to 18 months in prison for driving the main perpetrators to the crime scenes. The man asked for time to think about it, while the other two defendants, Germans with Romanian roots, accepted their sentences, which are already final. Both main defendants have extensive criminal records in Germany, with twelve and seven previous convictions for property crimes, respectively. A particularly explosive aspect of the case is that one of the main defendants was released from prison shortly before the crimes.

In the fall of 2024, the accused moved their criminal activities to Austria. Between mid-October and mid-November, they knocked on the doors of elderly people and posed as detectives. Some of them identified themselves with fake IDs and claimed that a Romanian gang of burglars had already struck in the neighborhood. You would therefore have to check every apartment. In two cases they broke into the apartments but ransacked them without finding any significant loot, while in two other cases they were met with rejection from the citizens. While the main perpetrators made confessions, the chauffeur denied his responsibility and stated that he had only acted as a driver.

Crime statistics in Austria

The incidents are part of a larger trend in the Crime in Austria, which reached a peak in 2023 with around 528,000 reported crimes, which is the highest level since 2016. Over a third of these offenses occurred in Vienna. The figures on foreign crime are particularly worrying: in 2022, almost 43% of suspects were foreigners, and 58% of newly imprisoned people came from abroad. The most common foreign perpetrators come from countries such as Romania, Germany and Serbia.

As part of the Police crime statistics (PKS) the development of criminal events in Austria is recorded. These statistics, which have been kept electronically since 2001, provide crucial insight into crime and are an important tool for planning strategic crime responses. Particularly noticeable are the rising numbers of white-collar crime and cybercrime, which have risen continuously in recent years. In 2023, around 103,000 cases of economic crime and around 65,900 cyber crimes were reported. The clearance rate for cyber crimes was 31.6%, which signals a need for optimization.

Social relevance and impact

Another key point is the increasing distrust of immigrants, with 70% of Austrians believing that they exacerbate crime problems. Despite the worrying statistics, trust in the police remains relatively high: 77% of the population expressed their trust in the police in a survey in spring 2024. At the same time, the survey shows that 72% of Austrians have trust in the judiciary, indicating a certain level of confidence in fighting crime.

The case of the false detectives not only reflects an individual criminal act, but also stands in the context of the broader social discourse about security, immigration and the role of the rule of law in Austria.