NCJ Number
75945
Journal
International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice Volume: 4 Issue: 2 Dated: (Winter 1980) Pages: 125-130
Date Published
1980
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The Austrian administrative code authorizing a police prosecutor to impose short sentences in a police prison is examined in this paper; emphasis is on the reduction of delay in prosecution under criminal law between formal charges and final disposition.
Abstract
The Austrian Administrative Code authorizes extraordinary courts and a special police 'security department' to impose fines and short-term confinement for violations such as minor traffic and economic offenses, offenses against public peace, failure to follow official instructions, and impetuous behavior against authorities in spite of previous warning. Acting as a judge for administrative law cases, the police prosecutor examines the arresting officer's report and hears the defendant's statement without the presence of a defense attorney at a closed hearing. Thus, such cases, including summary prosecution and possible imprisonment in the police prison, are processed entirely within the police department, while violations of criminal law are referred to the public prosecutor. The police may hold the criminal suspect without referral to the prosecutor for 48 hours. When functioning as a police prosecutor, the legal officer can order imprisonment only for violations of administrative law, but these sentences may serve a crucial function for the processing of persons accused of violations of criminal law. When the public prosecutor wishes additional investigation before accepting responsibility, the police prosecutor and police prison serve the secondary function of holding the suspect while further police investigation of the criminal charge is completed. Thus, the police prosecutor and the police prison serve Austria's public prosecutor by prolonging the police investigative phase, by offering the public prosecutor an opportunity for discretion, and by enabling the prosecutor to take the case to trial with greater confidence that conviction will ensue. The holding action of confinement in the police prison reduces the time between referral to the public prosecutor and the criminal court trial to two or three months. The State saves the expense of prolonged processing, long pretrial detention under the authority of the criminal courts, and negotiations with private attorneys. Historical background of Austrian law description of Vienna's police prison, and statistical data are included.