Champagne theft in Favoriten: police officers injured, arrest in chaos!

Champagne theft in Favoriten: police officers injured, arrest in chaos!

Things were turbulent in Vienna-Favoriten on Tuesday night when a 24-year-old police officer caused a commotion in a gas station. Shortly after midnight he entered a gas station on Triester Strasse, grabbed two bottles of champagne and left without paying. But that wasn't enough: he smashed the bottles on the ground in front of the gas station, causing another commotion.

When the police arrived, the man simply wanted to disappear. He sought safety at a nearby construction site, but his attempt to escape turned out well for the police because he damaged the construction site fence in the process. The officers repeatedly asked him to stop. But the 24-year-old resisted violently, kicked and bit one of the officers. As a result, three police officers were slightly injured. Eventually the emergency services managed to arrest him. On the order of the public prosecutor, he was taken to a prison, as Kurier reports.

One-off incidents or signs of higher crime?

These events only touch on part of the criminal spectrum in Vienna. On Sunday, June 29th, a 21-year-old car driver on Triester Strasse had already attracted attention for his aggressive driving style. Motorcycle police stopped him and discovered that he didn't have a driver's license and that he had an open criminal record running into four figures. The situation escalated when he also resisted arrest and eventually disappeared in a taxi. However, the taxi driver reported him, which allowed the police to quickly intervene and finally arrest the 21-year-old. He is now threatened with serious legal consequences, according to the report from MeinBezirk.

A look at the numbers shows that such incidents are not isolated cases. In 2023, a total of around 528,000 crimes were reported in Austria, marking the highest level since 2016. Over a third of these crimes occurred in Vienna, which is considered a crime hotspot. Studies show that the majority of Austrians are of the opinion that immigrants increase crime, and drug-related crime and economic crimes are particularly popular in the public eye. In 2023, there were around 35,400 reports of drug crimes - most of which occurred in Vienna, reports [Statista](https://de.statista.com/themen/5337/ criminalitaet-in-oesterreich/).

Police and citizen trust

Although incidents of resistance and aggression against the police are worrying, a majority of the population believes that the police are doing their job well. According to a recent survey, 77% of Austrians have trust in the police. But there is also a growing demand for more action against crime, particularly in the area of ​​Islamist terrorism, which 85% of those surveyed want to see more action taken.

In this context, it is becoming increasingly important for the responsible authorities to maintain trust in the legal system. 72% of citizens continue to believe in the fairness of the judiciary, even if there may be some crises. In Vienna, where crime rates are always high, the challenge for the police does not diminish when incidents like that of the 24-year-old police officer repeatedly cause unrest.