Weapons ban zones in Vienna: Strengthen security in public space!

Weapons ban zones in Vienna: Strengthen security in public space!

Vienna's police chief Gerhard Pürstl has announced both the extension of the weapon ban zones in favorites and on the Praterstern as well as a nationwide ban on weapons in public spaces. The reasons: a decline in violent crime and the securing of 118 forbidden weapons, mostly knives, since the introduction of the ban in March 2024 in favorites. Pürstl found that the Situation had become calmer and that the population's feeling of security is strengthened by the measures. This reports Today.at .

Pürstl is convinced that the reduction of means of violence, especially knives, is essential: "The knife is the main problem," he said to the press. In addition, the police are considering designing the existing rules in such a way that hardship cases such as for hunters or against use in public spaces, for example when grilling, remain excluded. The police chief calls for a uniform regulation to avoid further incidents that affect the security of the citizens. He emphasizes that 95 weapons in the Praterstern zone have already been ensured last year, which illustrates the need for action, as reported.

Current developments in police work

Another remarkable topic is the recruitment of police officers. If the number of new admissions increased from 1700 in the previous year to 2500 this year, this shows the efforts of the city to stabilize the police status. Currently, the incentives such as higher entry salaries and assumption of driving license costs. Pürstl underlines that 800 new police officers go into basic training to ensure the protection of the public. At the same time, there are ongoing concerns about growing youth crime, whereby the numbers of extracurricular acts of violence were alarming in the past year.

The ongoing attempts to improve the security situation are still the focus of the Vienna police. While Pürstl rates the developments as positive, the implementation of an Austria -wide weapon ban remains the goal of his initiative in order to further increase public security.