The Vienna police must continue to tighten their belts, with further cuts looming. As of July, opening hours on Sundays and public holidays will also be significantly reduced. The State Police Directorate (LPD) confirmed on Friday afternoon APA’s findings on the new measures. “All 52 police stations that do not operate 24-hour public counters are affected,” said spokesperson Anna Gutt.

Specifically, starting in July almost two-thirds of Vienna’s 81 stations will remain closed for public business on Sundays and holidays, leaving just 29 locations where one can still file a report. “On Sundays and holidays, citizens can still visit the stations that remain open around the clock for public services,” Gutt added.

Based on positive experiences from the pilot scheme restricting daytime public counters since October 2023, the measures are now being extended to Sundays and holidays “to focus even more intensively on the actual needs of the population and the core policing tasks of executive field duty,” Gutt explained. The need for all 81 stations to be open around the clock “no longer exists to this extent,” she said. Notices will inform citizens of the nearest open station on weekends.

Plan First Proposed in Spring 2024

Previously, in October 2023, the LPD had already trimmed night-time public counter hours on weekdays. Since then, from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., public services have been available at only 29 of Vienna’s stations. Measures for Sundays and holidays had been on the table last spring but were shelved just before implementation.

In March of this year, an APA report revealed significant cuts to overtime and other cost factors. The LPD referred queries to the Interior Ministry, which defended the cuts as necessary under the provisional budget.

Criticism from Multiple Sides

That same Friday evening, Vienna FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp criticized the austerity for the police as “a security risk for our city,” in a statement aimed at the ÖVP-led Interior Ministry and Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig (SPÖ). He vowed to “protest this madness by all means.”

Earlier, police union representatives had voiced their frustration. “The nighttime closures in October 2023 were sold to us by the State Police President as a relief,” said union chair Walter Strallhofer. “By temporarily closing certain stations, tasks are simply shifted onto other colleagues,” he explained, adding that fewer officers will now be on duty Sundays and holidays. Closures can last up to 72 hours—for example, when a long weekend spans three Christmas holidays followed by Sunday.

Gerhard Zauner, head of Vienna’s Christian Union faction, demanded clarity. The cuts were “marketed as relief for the upcoming holiday season,” he said, but he believes they are purely “a budget-saving measure.”