Abbreviation BKA | Employees 5,200 | |
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Formed 15 March 1951 (65 years ago) (1951-03-15) Preceding agency Criminal Police Office for the British Zone Legal personality Governmental: Government agency | ||
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. 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.
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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.
History
The Federal Criminal Police Office was founded in Germany in 1951.
Missions
The BKA's missions include:
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.