Law enforcement in Austria

Law enforcement in Austria is the responsibility of the Directorate General for Public Security, a subdivision of the Federal Ministry of the Interior located at Herrengasse 7 in Vienna.

[citation needed] The Ministry of the Interior is responsible for: In general, the nine States of Austria do not operate state law enforcement agencies, except in their specific areas of competence, namely nature conservation and wildlife protection.

In others, responsibility for policing lies with the federal government and municipalities cannot call these agencies "police", instead naming them "order offices" (German: Ordnungsamt, Ordnungswache), similar in function to a bylaw enforcement officer or code enforcement.

In some cases, these organisations are established as private corporations, owned by the municipality, such as the Security Service (German: Ordnungsdienst) of Linz.

These requirements include being at least 18 years of age, Austrian citizenship, an ability to act (not burdened by physical disability), impeccable reputation, Class B driver's licence, if conscripted to the armed forces, to have completed that conscription, and a swimming badge to prove swimming ability.