Viennese Crime

Vienna is known for its beauty, its rich history pertaining to crafts such as cooking, baking, music and art as well as its amazing contribution to the field of psychology. An even more astonishing aspect of Vienna is that there is barely any crime found there! Austrian Law enforcement agencies are the ones who combat crime in Austria. The justice and security system is very well kept, and it is generally pretty safe to travel around Vienna. Here is all you need to know about Vienna crime.

Lowest Rates of Homicide?

Intentional homicide in Austria in the year 2017 was at the rate of 0.61 per 100,000 population. This rate is actually one of the lowest rates of homicide in the whole world. In 2017, only 54 intentional homicides took place in Austria.

‘Carmic’ Crimes?

Austria, in 2004, had the lowest rate of car theft in the entire EU.

Petty Crime?

Pickpocketing and purse snatching is more commonly found in the more populated areas that are hotspots for tourists. Subways, train stations and buses are also common for purse snatchers and pickpockets. The more wealthy neighborhoods see more residential burglaries, which is a common concern. Vienna is rated as medium by the US government in terms of the level of residential crime that takes place there.

Who’s Doing The Crime?

An interesting result of research on Vienna crime is that 64% of all offences that have to do with drugs are carried out by foreigners. Due to Vienna’s low crime rates, felons feel like it is easier to target Vienna. Colin Blaney, a famous British criminal mentioned in his autobiography that confidence tricksters, undesirables and British thieves went to Austria for this reason.

Corruption?

It is quite an admirable trait of Vienna that most of their corruption cases that are under investigation by parliamentary committees end with a judicial trail with fair judgment. The institutional and legal system in Austria is generally known to be very well developed and maintained.

In the 2000s, Austria dealt with a lot of corruption cases that involved regional and land officials as well as some high profile government officials and political figures.

These corruption cases often consisted of abuse of office incidents, money laundering, influence peddling and conflict of interest. These scandals really made the people and the world doubt the ethical standing of the elite who had political power.

How Safe Is Vienna?

Overall, Vienna is known to be quite a safe city. On average, 20 or so murders take place yearly with almost 19 of them to be within a family structure or in presence of drug dealers. However, public transport hubs are also not as safe as they should be and anyone who frequently visits them should be cautious.

The Bottom Line

Vienna is overall very safe. However, burglary rates seem to be on the rise. Tourists in particular should not stay there for a very long period of time and always remain alert in public places.