Abstract (eng)
Although it is hard to deny advantages of a multicultural police, such as language skills and knowledge of cultures, it does not seem to be self-evident, that the 30 % of Viennese population, who have migration background, are equally represented in the police.
Therefore, this work deals with the complex theme of police officers from post-migration backgrounds and analyses their perspectives within the Viennese Police on three levels. An anthropological perspective was chosen, but this work integrates even a political, historical and philosophic point of view for analytical purpose.
On a first level, this work deals with the “right to exist” and the basic conditions for “strange” police officers, tries to analyze this from an historical-philosophical point of view and has a special look on the recruiting-system of the Austrian police.
On a second level this work constitutes the perspective of the police and its members and shows why they think it is important to recruit persons from post-migration backgrounds.
The third level deals with the population of Vienna, its relation to the police as well as to the police officers from post-migration backgrounds. This relation, as the relation of police and citizen in general, is not an easy one, and it is even more stressed when it comes to the subject of “strangers” within the police.
All three levels show that the Vienna Police, as well as main parts of the Viennese population, recognized the advantages of police officers from post-migration backgrounds. Nevertheless, recruiting of persons from post-migration backgrounds in a systematic way is not achieved yet. Efforts in a sense that there is one police for everybody will not be able until society, police, citizens and politics work together effectively.