As the central office of the German police that operates internationally, the BKA carries out investigations, conducts research, develops, analyses and performs tasks in the field of personal protection. Accordingly, the BKA is an important building block in the German security architecture. It rigorously pursues the goals of combating crime and making Germany a safe and secure place to live. The BKA employs more than 7,000 staff across its eleven divisions and three locations. Their job is to fulfil their statutory mandate and to ensure security in the Federal Republic of Germany by performing a wide variety of tasks. The BKA is headed by the president and three vice presidents. The wide-ranging responsibilities of the Federal Criminal Police include national and international collaboration, investigations, research and development, administration and personal protection. The BKA also acts as the central office of the German police. In this function, it supports the federal and state police forces in the prevention and prosecution of criminal offences with transnational, international or otherwise considerable significance. All important reports on crimes and offenders that have more than just a local or regional character are sent to the BKA and evaluated there. The federal state departments are notified immediately when information relevant to them is received or connections are identified.
In their research projects and analyses, the BKA deals with current police and security policy topics and issues. The aim is to identify developments at an early stage and to show explanatory approaches and approaches to fighting and preventing crime. The various research and advisory units in the BKA conduct research on the extent, origins and perpetration types of crime and advise police authorities and the political level on issues and questions of crime strategy. They are part of national and international research networks and collaborations in which they work closely with both domestic and international police authorities and scientific institutions. The research and advisory units in the BKA are concerned with the following key issues: cybercrime; terrorism/extremism; organised crime, economic crime and crime prevention; police crime statistics (PKS) and unreported/undetected crime research; Central Office for the Collection and Analysis of Legal Facts (RETASAST).
