Weapons on Heldenplatz – Justice counters criticism: “Self-defense would have been possible”

The training equipment of the judicial guard task force caused a stir on the national holiday. Now the ministry is trying to explain.

Since its founding, the “heavy” task force of the judicial guard has been dealing with extremely difficult situations in the execution of sentences and measures around the clock – and it does so with professionalism, commitment and commitment. Despite everything, the show on the occasion of the national holiday on Vienna’s Heldenplatz attracted great malice and criticism. The reason for this: unloaded training weapons and partly untested protective equipment, and this with an increased terror alert level in the country! “International standard” But the responsible ministry naturally takes a relaxed view of the matter. When asked several times, it was stated succinctly: “For safety reasons, training weapons are carried and used instead of service weapons during demonstrations. This is a safety standard during exercises that can certainly be observed internationally. The prison guards who did not take part were all equipped with service weapons.” Furthermore, the responsibility for protecting the population – “due to relevant legal mandates” – is also wanted to be passed on to colleagues from the army and police. “An intervention by the judicial guard would have been legally possible, for example in the context of self-defense or emergency assistance,” is emphasized in the postscript. Fortunately, once again that wasn’t necessary.
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