Image: (APA/ROLAND SCHLAGER)
According to this, any duplication of effort should be eliminated in the future and friction between the authorities reduced. The aim is to increase the number of hits in terms of convictions.
Interagency Task Force
The permanent task force will be set up across authorities, said Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (ÖVP) in the press foyer after the Council of Ministers. The Federal Criminal Police Office (BK) is in charge. In the future, cooperation between all authorities and NGOs at federal and state level is to be intensified “in order to prevent, investigate and punish environmental crimes accordingly”.
According to Karner, there are currently 30 specialists in the field of environment available nationwide in the state criminal investigation offices. In addition, there are around 500 specially trained officers with a focus on environmental crimes. However, they want to expand the pool of investigators and train additional officers. Crime scene work is also to be intensified in the regions. For this, Karner has special cross-district crime scene groups in mind – “from Lake Constance to Lake Neusiedl”.
1,500 ads per year
There are around 1,500 complaints under environmental criminal law every year. The convictions are manageable, according to Justice Minister Alma Zadić (Greens). This is often due to insufficient evidence being collected. There must now be more cooperation in this area, and the various authorities must make their expertise available. Networking has an enormous advantage, argued the Minister of Justice.
Environmental protection enjoys a “high priority” in Austria, stressed Zadić. And environmental crime is only profitable as long as the perpetrators can count on not being caught. In the future, everything will be done to hold accountable those responsible for environmental crimes, stressed Zadic.
Source: Nachrichten
