Security measures for New Year's Eve: Police provide insight into operations!

Security measures for New Year's Eve: Police provide insight into operations!

The Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner and the State Police President Gerhard Pürstl will hold a local inspection of the operational staff for the security measures on New Year's Eve 2024 on December 30, 2024. During this visit there will be a briefing, followed by a tour during which the media can accompany the police officers from the standby unit who are already on duty. The meeting point is at 10:15 a.m. at Am Hof ​​square in Vienna, directly in front of the mobile deployment container. Media representatives are warmly invited to this event, but require prior accreditation to participate, as stated on the official website of OTS.at explained.

Gerhard Pürstl in focus

Gerhard Pürstl, who has served as Vienna's police chief since 2008, has had an impressive career. After studying law at the University of Vienna, he joined the Vienna police force in 1988. Over the years, Pürstl gained extensive experience in various leadership positions, most recently as state police chief, which made him a respected figure in the country's security architecture. Before his appointment as state police chief, he worked, among other things, as a main consultant in the office for legal issues. Pürstl was confirmed in this office for another five years by Interior Minister Gerhard Karner in 2023 Wikipedia reported.

His leadership style and decisions have often attracted media attention. Particularly in 2014, during the Vienna Academic Ball, Pürstl came under fire after he said on television that the data of demonstrators who “were at the rescue” could be researched. Despite these challenges, he received support from political parties such as the ÖVP and the FPÖ.