Police Stop and Search Practices in Austria

The recurrent public discourse on police stop and search practices in Austria is largely based on event-specific discussion, which is only seldom underpinned by broader evidence-based studies or reports. This chapter gives a comprehensive overview of the issue of police stop and search in an Austrian context, a topic often overshadowed by reports on practices of ethnic profiling. A reason for the apparent reluctance to change these practices (and their lack of accountability) is seen in the mismatch between the perceived problems with police stop and search practice and often unrelated policies, which are rather influenced by current political trends.