Investigation Office Against Police Violence: More Than 500 Cases

A large part of these - almost 400 - have already been legally concluded. Charges were brought in two cases, another case was dealt with by diversion, as the Ministry of the Interior announced in a balance sheet on Monday.

505 procedures concerned allegations of abuse, in nine cases police use of firearms was investigated, which was associated with life-threatening or fatal consequences. 392 procedures could be legally concluded: 187 procedures were discontinued by the public prosecutor's offices, in 202 cases the initiation of an investigation was refrained from, but these cases were reported to the Ombudsman's Office, as Meinrad Handstanger, the chairman of the independent EBM committee, emphasized on Monday in a conversation with the APA.

To ensure that the new investigation office can investigate independently, the advisory board was installed, which should exercise a "structural control", as Handstanger explained: "It's about quality assurance." As far as independence is concerned, "I have no knowledge that there has been a written directive." The EBM can "claim that it investigates quickly, reliably and objectively." The high number of reported cases shows "that the institution is accepted and enjoys trust. This is in the interest of all parties."

Staff Increase Suggested for Investigation Office Against Police Violence

Handstanger suggested to the APA a staff increase for the EBM, which currently employs 38 staff members, including a human rights expert and a psychologist, to ensure interdisciplinary and multiprofessional expertise. Instead of the expected 300 cases, significantly more allegations were brought to the EBM in the first year. "The unit is under construction. It is holding up well and fulfilling its tasks. But it will probably have to be expanded," Handstanger said.

In addition, the chairman of the advisory board advocated improved documentation for detentions in police custody - for example in detention centres: "These cases of deprivation of liberty take place outside the public eye, which is why a transparency deficit must be prevented." Handstanger can therefore imagine video recordings, by police officers equipped with bodycams also using them. Handstanger expects this to have a "deescalating effect on both sides."

The chairman of the advisory board considers communication and cooperation with the public prosecutor's offices to be "expandable". The EBM reports every suspected case to the responsible prosecution authority, but is often not sufficiently informed about the reasons for discontinuing investigations or dropping a report. "More feedback would be desirable here." 80 percent of the cases occurred in the first year in the district of the Vienna public prosecutor's office, which is why Handstanger believes that the creation of "a separate subgroup specialized in suspected police attacks at the local public prosecutor's office would be advantageous."

"A Good Sign for the Police"

The human rights organization Amnesty International expressed general satisfaction with the EBM. "The high number of cases reviewed shows that this office is needed. But also, that this office needs more staff," said Shoura Hashemi, Managing Director of Amnesty International Austria. In a conversation with the APA, Hashemi said it was "a good sign for the police that people dare to turn to this office and assume that their concerns will be pursued." The EBM is not a "snitch office" as it might initially be seen by some executive officers, but rather advantageous for police officers who may be unjustly accused: "It contributes to external transparency and internal perception that accusations are properly pursued by a professional investigation office."

Before the introduction of the EBM, many cases were simply not reported because there were no independent investigations and the victims lacked trust in effective investigations, Hashemi suspected. The fact that the office is located in the Ministry of the Interior is still seen as a point of criticism by Amnesty. This gives the respective incumbent Minister of the Interior a theoretical directive authority.

Amnesty calls on the upcoming federal government to introduce an anonymized, but individually assignable identification requirement for police officers. Currently, the lack of an identification requirement means that the investigated cases of police violence are often not provable, "and not that they are not sustainable," as Hashemi noted. An identification requirement is therefore "not a hostile demand, but a contribution to creating more trust in the police," said the Amnesty Managing Director to the APA. Internationally, an identification requirement is long "recognized as a human rights standard" and implemented in most European countries.

Countering Critics

Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior countered critics on Monday who had feared in advance that the EBM investigations would produce "biased results". This has been "proven wrong by this now independent and neutral body," it said in a statement. "Even the new office comes to the conclusion that the vast majority of allegations of abuse are not sustainable or provable."

Parts of the political opposition and NGOs had taken offense in the past that the EBM was located in the BAK and thus in the department of the Ministry of the Interior. "The investigators of the Investigation and Complaints Office for allegations of abuse will continue to carry out their work neutrally and independently, collecting both incriminating and exonerating evidence in cases of allegations of abuse against the police, thus making a significant contribution to the rule of law in police action," the Ministry of the Interior countered.

(APA/Red)

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