About 6,000 handheld alarm devices will be distributed by Austrian police among population in order to prevent sexual assaults during celebrations at the end of the year.
Photo: AP Photo/ Kerstin Joensson
In anticipation of New Year holidays, Austrian police plans to distribute about 6,000 handheld alarm devices among population in order to prevent sexual assaults, the country’s Ministry of Internal Affairs reported.
As a representative of the department told the AFP news agency, this is an operation of national scales, which has been launched on an occasion of celebrations at the end of the year and is intended primarily for women.
The alarm devices, each of which costs €3.5, will be distributed free of charge. Upon activation the devices emit piercing sound, which should scare off a potential attacker.
Traditionally, hundreds of thousands of local residents and tourists celebrate New Year on the streets in Austria. The country’s authorities strengthen security measures during the holidays due to the events that took place in neighboring Germany a year ago.
On the night of January 1, 2016, local residents of the German city of Cologne were massively attacked by migrants and refugees.
German police received more than 700 reports from women, victims of gender-based harassment and beating, also numerous thefts were recorded. According to witnesses, young men of North African and Arab appearance were among the attackers. Similar crimes occurred in other German cities: Hamburg, Stuttgart, Berlin, Frankfurt, as well as in Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland and other European countries.
