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17. 03. 10. - 07:00

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17. 03. 10. - 07:00

Vienna police under fire over recruit campaign

Viennese police have been confronted with harsh criticism of a new recruitment initiative.

The capital’s police recently presented a new campaign which it hoped would spark young people’s interest in joining its forces.

The campaign features posters with slogans such as "Schutz" (Protection) and "Gerechtigkeit" (Justice).

Vienna police chiefs Gerhard Pürstl and Karl Mahrer explained they will take on 450 new police officers every year until 2013.

But critics have slammed the initiative, claiming the police currently withdraw six in seven applications.

Mahrer – who refused to reveal how much money had been spent on the campaign – explained: "We will engage 1,800 new officers until 2013, and we only want the best."

Newspaper ads posted by Vienna police praise the job as being "especially interesting" since it "offers a wide spectrum of professional perspectives.

"Everyone who wants to prove their responsibility to society, have good interpersonal skills and who enjoy solving problems should join up," it reads.

But apart from the question of whether it was necessary to spend thousands of tax payers’ money on the advertisement campaign, many Vienna residents are up in arms over one of the posters appearing across the city.

The controversial image – headlined by big letters saying "Schutz" (Protection) - shows a policemen standing in a gloomy, graffiti-covered pedestrian subway at the city’s Matzleinsdorferplatz.

The square is regarded not just as one of the capital’s least attractive places, but also for being an infamous crime hot spot.

Critics have said it would be a better idea to send police on patrol to places like Matzleinsdorferplatz more often instead of just splashing on a campaign like the current one.

Austrian Times

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