[1][2] However, at the insistence of the Archduke Joseph II, the force was to be conservative in its operations—particularly in the monitoring of mail—so as "not to damage the reputation of the post and civil freedom".
[2] Indeed, Joseph II's sanction for the creation of the Secret State Police was borne more out of his insatiable craving for information than a desire to suppress criticism, as he believed the public should be permitted to critique the government.
[1] Some of the methods, such as the monitoring of mail, produced information used to guide investigations but inadmissible in court under Austrian law.
[3] The Secret State Police occasionally secretly detained Staatsverbrecher (political criminals) suspected of high treason who could not be subject to public detention and trial without the risk of igniting public sympathy.
[4][1] To avoid transforming them into social or political icons, their guilt and punishment was secretly and singularly determined by the Archduke.