Valid from July 15

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Interior Minister Gerhard Karner (2nd from right), State Governor Christopher Drexler (3rd from right) and State Police Director Gerald Ortner (4th from right) and Graz City Police Commander Thomas Heiland (1st from right) announced the reintroduction of a protection zone in the Volksgarten in Graz on Friday.

(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Undisguised drug dealing, mobbing, violence: the situation in the Volksgarten has come to a head again in recent months. On Friday, Interior Minister Gerhard Karner, together with Governor Christopher Drexler and top police officers, announced that a protection zone will once again come into force in the problem park from next Monday. 

The Volksgarten in the Lend district of Graz has long had an inglorious reputation as a problem park and crime hotspot. There was already a so-called protection zone here between 2019 and 2020. In recent months, the situation has now worsened massively again - the "Krone" has reported several times. 

Drug offenses have exploded 
Numerous residents have reported unacceptable conditions and many are now giving the green oasis a wide berth. Undisguised drug dealing around the clock, damage to property and loud fights and even stabbings are making the park increasingly unusable for the local population. The subjective perception of local residents can also be backed up by figures: According to the provincial police directorate, drug-related offenses in the Volksgarten increased by 45 percent in the first half of 2024 compared to the previous year! 

Calls for the reintroduction of a protection zone have been growing louder for several months. Politically, the Graz ÖVP under city party leader Kurt Hohensinner - with the backing of ÖVP state governor Drexler - has been pushing for this measure. 

On Friday, the police launched a special operation in the Volksgarten, also using drug-sniffing dogs.

(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

Protection zone in the Volksgarten from July 15 
On Friday, it was officially announced what had been expected in the run-up to the announced visit by ÖVP Interior Minister Karner: "I can announce today that a protection zone will be set up here in the Volksgarten from next Monday (July 15, note)," said the Interior Minister at a press event in the Volksgarten on Friday.

Willibald Gutschi, Head of the Operations Department at Graz City Police Command, explains the spatial boundaries of the protection zone.

(Bild: Juergen Fuchs)

What does that mean in concrete terms? A protection zone is a security police measure that can be imposed primarily to protect minors around schools, kindergartens or playgrounds - initially for a maximum of six months. The police can remove suspicious persons from the protection zone in the relevant area and also impose bans on entering. When a protection zone was already imposed in the Volksgarten between 2019 and 2020, "the number of offenses fell massively", says Styrian State Police Director Gerald Ortner.

The benefits of protection zones

What is a protection zone?

The security police measure is intended to protect minors from criminal offenses, which is why the ordinance is issued around schools or playgrounds, for example. It is limited to a maximum of 6 months.

What does this mean in practice?

The police now have more power to deal with suspicious persons and can remove them from the zone and ban them from entering for 30 days. Fines (up to 4600 euros) are imposed for violations.

How many such zones are there currently?

There are currently eight protection zones across Austria, and with the new one in Graz from Monday there will be nine. There are five in Lower Austria, one in Vienna (Keplerplatz), one in Linz (Upper Austria) and one in Innsbruck (Tyrol).

"Completely unacceptable conditions"
"I am really happy and grateful that it has been made possible to declare the Volksgartenpark in Graz a protection zone from Monday. Because what police officers experience and residents describe about what happens here reveals completely unacceptable conditions," comments Governor Christopher Drexler, who grew up in the immediate vicinity of the park, and adds: "No reasonable person can be against the introduction of a protection zone."

Maria Reiner from the Annenviertel district project association takes a different view and distributes information leaflets at the press event. She sees the measure as "pure populism" in the run-up to the elections. The "securitization" of social problems would only contribute to social division.

Problems just shifted?
Critics also fear that the problems will only be shifted. "We will keep a close eye on whether there is a displacement effect and whether further protection zones may be necessary," commented Police Director Gerald Ortner.

KPÖ Mayor Elke Kahr had recently spoken out against a protection zone and increased the presence of the city's police force. In a press release on Friday, she emphasized that "the deployment of the police has already led to many positive changes after just one month".