Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution and Counterterrorism
The Federal Agency for State Protection and Counter Terrorism ( BVT) is an Austrian police organization with nachrichtendienstlichem character, but without intelligence powers. Its mission is the protection of constitutional institutions of the Republic of Austria and the securing of their ability to act. The authority was from the State Police and some special units ( EDOK and EBT - Task Force to combat terrorism), founded in 2002, which were subject as today's Federal Office directly to the General Directorate of Public Security of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. The BAT creates the Verfassungsschutzbericht annually.
Organization
The statutory basis for the Federal Office the "Law on the organization of security management and the exercise of the Security Police " ( Security Police Act ). The BAT is divided into the Federal Office itself and nine regional offices Protection of the Constitution (LV ) in the respective provinces. In general, there are the state offices at the headquarters of the respective national police headquarters in the state capital.
History
Founded in 2002, the Federal Office by merging various special units of the Interior Ministry and priority of the former state police. This was done in response to the increasing threat to public safety by international terrorism. In the face of the events after and around the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 Interior Minister Ernst Strasser gave the order for the restructuring of the Austrian counter-terrorism.
To the Director of the Authority initially was Gert- Rene Polli, an officer of the Military Intelligence Office, appointed. Polli's successor, after his resignation in October 2007 Peter Gridling, who had earlier directed the EBT and had been responsible for our research in the area of terrorism in Europol. In September 2011, the BAT moved from his office in the building of the Ministry of Interior in Mr. Lane to its new location in the Rennwegkaserne.
Others
To check the BAT is the Austrian National Council a subcommittee of Internal Affairs.