The austerity measures affecting the Austrian police have now reached the Directorate for Special Units/Einsatzkommando Cobra (DSE). As confirmed to APA by multiple sources within the security apparatus, staffing levels across the entire directorate must be significantly reduced by the end of the year. According to these sources, the DSE has had to operate since autumn with roughly 40 fewer personnel, while Cobra, which is part of the directorate, is facing cuts in the lower double-digit range among its operational officers.
According to verified APA information, the assignments of the affected officers to the various DSE departments have been revoked. In addition to the counterterrorism unit, which has around 350 operational officers, the DSE also includes the bomb disposal service, surveillance, investigative technology, and the police aviation unit. Its personnel are largely drawn from officers assigned by the nine provincial police directorates. The 40 affected officers have gradually returned to their original posts since autumn, according to APA information.
Interior Ministry: “Duties remain guaranteed”
The Interior Ministry said in response to an APA inquiry that all organizational units are affected by the current budget situation in the public sector. Personnel measures are always taken with consideration for available financial resources. The ministry cited examples such as “new staff joining through basic training courses in the various DSE/EKO Cobra specialist fields, departures due to retirement, and changes affecting officers assigned from the provincial police directorates.”
Because the measures are needs-based, the proper fulfillment of duties by DSE/EKO Cobra is “in any case guaranteed.” Through “thorough planning, targeted resource allocation and clear prioritization,” it is possible to implement operational requirements even under the current restrictive budget conditions. The ministry emphasized that the top priority remains the successful handling of specialized police operations.
Dissatisfaction among personnel
Within security circles, the measures appear to be causing frustration—not only because “experienced people are simply being moved elsewhere,” as insiders put it. The staff reductions disrupt team structures at Cobra, which is already stretched thin, and ultimately affect operations. “This changes routines that have been practiced and perfected,” said individuals within the special unit. They fear a “weakening of response and response times” in major emergencies such as active-shooter situations or terrorist attacks.
There is also uncertainty over whether 25 DSE officers currently in training for supervisory roles will be able to return to the DSE after completing their program. In recent months, some nonessential training and professional development courses at Cobra have been canceled due to cost-cutting requirements. Cuts to the vehicle fleet used for surveillance have also led to restrictions affecting the professionalism of the work.
Austerity measures
Just on Tuesday, the Interior Ministry presented a new duty-time model for the police. Belt-tightening, however, has been underway since this spring. Cuts have affected not only overtime but also material costs, construction projects, police brass bands in the provincial directorates, recruitment bonuses, the climate ticket and free driver’s licenses for police trainees, and the basic performance bonus. In July, the cancellation of basic police training courses—amounting to more than 400 originally planned training spots—caused anger within the force.
At the same time, structural changes have been implemented in the provincial police directorates this year. In Vienna, since July, nearly two-thirds of the city’s 81 police stations have been closed to the public on Sundays and public holidays. In the provinces of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, several stations have been consolidated. The Interior Ministry has repeatedly pointed to the federal budget, while insisting that the cuts are not being made “at the expense of security or essential personnel,” as a spokesperson said in March.
