Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)

Federal Criminal Police Office
Bundeskriminalamt
Abbreviation BKA

Main logo of the BKA
Agency overview
Formed 15 March 1951 (1951-03-15)
Preceding agency Criminal Police Office for the British Zone
Employees 5,200
Legal personality Governmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Federal agency
(Operations jurisdiction)		 Germany
Legal jurisdiction As per operations jurisdiction.
Constituting instrument Law on the Establishment of the Federal Criminal Police Office (German: BKA-Gesetz)
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters Wiesbaden
Agency executive Holger Münch, President
Divisions
Website
www.bka.de
Footnotes
Reference for infobox data[1]

The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (in German:  Bundeskriminalamt , abbreviated  BKA ) is the federal investigative police agency of Germany, directly subordinated to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.[2] It is headquartered in Wiesbaden, Hesse, and maintains major branch offices in Berlin and Meckenheim near Bonn. It is headed by Holger Münch since Dec 2014.

Primary jurisdiction of the agency includes coordinating cooperation between the federation and state police forces; investigating cases of international organized crime, terrorism and other cases related to national security; counterterrorism; the protection of members of the constitutional institutions, and of federal witnesses. When requested by the respective state authorities or the federal minister of the interior, it also assumes responsibility for investigations in certain large-scale cases. Furthermore, the Attorney General of Germany can direct it to investigate cases of special public interest.[3]

History

The Federal Criminal Police Office was founded in Germany in 1951.

Missions

The BKA's missions include:

BKA headquarters in Wiesbaden

The BKA provides assistance to the states in forensic matters, research and organized crime investigations. It is Germany's national central bureau for the European Police Office (Europol), International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), Schengen Information System, and the German criminal Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS).

The DVI-Team (in German: Identifizierungskommission or more common IDKO) is an event driven organisation of mainly forensic specialists dedicated to identification of disaster victims. The DVI's past missions include several airplane crashes, the Eschede train disaster and the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.

The Close Protection Group protects the members of Germany's constitutional bodies and their foreign guests of state and is often the most visible part of the BKA. Specially selected and trained officers with special equipment and vehicles provide round-the-clock personal security to those they protect. The Protection Group is now headquartered in Berlin.

Approximately 5,200 BKA personnel operate nationwide and (e.g. as liaison officers) in 60 countries around the globe.[1]

Directors

Jörg Ziercke (2013)

Images

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Bundeskriminalamt – The Profile" (PDF). Bundeskriminalamt – Public Relations. Retrieved 2008-04-07.
  2. ↑ http://polis.osce.org/countries/details.php?item_id=17#Country_Profile_Section_213
  3. 1 2 "Law on the Federal Criminal Office and on the Cooperation of the Federation and the States in Criminal Police Matters, (German: Gesetz über das Bundeskriminalamt und die Zusammenarbeit des Bundes und der Länder in kriminalpolizeilichen Angelegenheiten)". Federal Ministry of Justice website (in German). Retrieved 2013-05-26.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bundeskriminalamt.

Coordinates: 50°05′52″N 8°14′45″E / 50.09778°N 8.24583°E / 50.09778; 8.24583

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