!!!Gendarmerie

Gendarmerie (also Bundesgendarmerie, rural police), armed body of 
policemen in uniform serving the maintenance of law and order and 
public security; founded in Austria in 1849 after the French model, 
established as the executive organ for the courts, public prosecutors 
and provincial and district administrative authorities throughout the 
Empire by Johann Kempen von Fichtenstamm. At first part of the Armed 
Forces and thus subject to military law; reorganized in 1876 (new law 
passed 1894), service instructions (Gendarmerie-Dienstinstruktion, 
GDI) compiled in 1895; after World War I new organization of the 
rural police corps by the rural police law (Gendarmerie-Gesetz) of 
1918, granting members the status of civil servants and putting them 
under ordinary jurisdiction. The G. has always had merely executive 
functions and never had any authoritative or decision-making power. 
Re-established after World War II, the G. served as a model for 
the reorganization of the Bulgarian and Turkish police, and had 
influenced the organization of the Chinese police in the1930s.

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The G. is placed under the authority of the Federal Ministry of the 
Interior (ministry department: Directorate-General for Public 
Security). The general headquarters of the G. in Vienna 
(Gendarmerie-Zentralkommando) rank highest in the hierarchy, followed 
by eight provincial headquarters (Landesgendarmeriekommanden), with 
one in every province, except Vienna, the Bezirksgendarmeriekommanden 
(district level) and the Gendarmerie-Posten (local level). The 
provincial headquarters have special departments for certain tasks: 
Stabsabteilung (staff department), Kriminalabteilung (criminal 
department), Technische Abteilung (technology department), 
oekonomisch-administrative Abteilung (economic and administrative 
department), Schulabteilung (training department). Education and 
training of the G., as provided under the respective regulation of 
1987, takes place at the G.-Zentralschule, which has existed in 
Moedling since 1935 (in Graz since 1930). During the occupation of 
Austria 1945-1955 the allies tolerated the training of cadre personnel 
("B-Gendarmerie") for the new Armed Forces in "G.-Schulen" 
(police academies) in the western provinces.

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After the introduction of radio patrols and emergency calls (phone no. 
133) in 1965, emphasis was laid on reforming the institutions for 
crime control and prevention: special units were set up (to fight 
terrorism, drug dealing etc.), existing offices and services were 
expanded (criminal matters, photographic service, road traffic, lakes, 
rivers, aviation, police dogs). The Alpine police has become more 
important due to expansion of tourism. New fields of activity are 
radiation protection and environmental offences. The 1990s saw 
organizational changes (merging of small posts and new organization of 
local, district and provincial headquarters) and changes in the 
execution of duties in order to permanently be at the disposal of the 
population. Since the  Schengen Agreement came into effect in 1995 the 
G. has been in charge of conducting EU border patrol supervision. 
Within the framework of international organisations (UN, OSCE, EU, 
WEU) about 750 members of the G. and the  police have participated in 
unarmed security operations abroad, ensuring the realization of human 
rights, supervising free and fair elections and participating in the 
training of police forces.

!Literature
L. Kepler (ed.), Die Gendarmerie in Oesterreich. 
1849-1974, 1974; R. Thienel, Die Aufgaben der Bundesgendarmerie, 1986.


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