German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation (Bundeskriminalamt, BKA)

Co-ordinate crime suppression at national and international level.

The BKA works on the basis of a clear legal mandate, which is defined in the German Constitution and in the "BKA Law" (Law on the BKA and the Cooperation between Federal and State Authorities in Criminal Police Matters).

German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation is an essential cornerstone in a comprehensive system of crime control and works as a partner with the police forces of the Federation and of the individual German states.

The German Federal Office of Criminal Investigation is an essential cornerstone in a comprehensive system of crime control and works as a partner with the police forces of the Federation and of the individual German states. The responsibilities and powers of the BKA, like those of all government agencies, are regulated by law. The BKA is a subordinate agency to the Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Interventions

Acting as information and communications centre of the German police.
Help the police forces in the German states to avoid duplication of effort: A
number of centralised systems and facilities for the German police are maintained at the BKA.
Responsibility for protecting the members of the constitutional organs of the Federation.
Promoting police co-operation in Europe and throughout the world as a legal mandate.
Acting as the national central office for Interpol, Europol and the Schengen Information System.
Investigating outstanding cases of international crime as defined by law either on its own initiative, or whenever a public prosecutor's office puts it in charge of such investigations due to the significance of the criminal offence in question.