International Coordination, Centre of education and research
Remit of Division IZ
The division IZ aims to link international cooperation and criminological research and science as closely as possible.
This includes e.g.:
- Consultation in cases concerning international cooperation in criminal matters
- Contentual configuration of European and international programmes on questions concerning the inner safety
- Acquisition of subsidies
- National and European legal advice
- Scheduling, implementation and development of national and international basic and advanced trainings-programmes and –measures
- Realisation of research projects concentrating on prioritised areas of crime and development of crime
- Usage of results of criminological researches in doctrine and training
National and international cooperation
Division IZ also coordinates cooperation between the German police authorities and European/international police organisations as well as within the framework of other forms of international police cooperation.
The BKA is Germany's National Central Bureau of the International Criminal Police Organisation (ICPO) - better known as INTERPOL - headquartered in Lyon, France, where 186 countries from all over the world have joined together with a view to provding mutual support to their police authorities. The BKA ensures that information exchange with Interpol and the police forces of the German states is rapid and secure.
Another important cooperation partner of the BKA is EUROPOL, the European Police Office in The Hague, in which all 28 EU member states as well as further third countries and services are represented. Also here, the Bundeskriminalamt is the competent national unit for Germany. At present, a total of 60 German officers are serving at Europol. Within the BKA, Division IK performs the duties in connection with the management of the Europol National Unit. In addition, the EU member states send liaison officers to Europol, who belong to the National Unit and represent exclusively national interests.
Liaison officers
The liaison officers play an important role as a reliable instrument for the collection and exchange of information. At the present time, 66 BKA liaison officers work at 53 locations in 50 countries, promoting bilateral cooperation between the criminal justice authorities at international level. They represent the interests of the German police, especially those of the BKA, in their respective host countries and also provide support to other German criminal justice authorities. In addition, the liaison officers can assist the criminal justice authorities of the host country when investigations with links to Germany are concerned. In addition to their case-related work, the liaison officers also collect information of strategic importance, especially with regard to the suppression of drugs and organised crime as well as international terrorism.
Educational Centre
In addition, Division KI offers the police officers of the Federation and the German states a broad spectrum of basic and advanced training courses that are based on the latest information in the fields of personnel development, research on criminology and criminal investigation and knowledge management. The subject matter ranges from training for forensic and fingerprint experts to advanced training in a variety of scientific and technical subjects all the way to foreign language courses; courses in sport along with weapons and firearms training round off the programme.
Training projects and international reconstruction assistance
A further area of concentration of the IK division is on "Training projects and international reconstruction assistance" for foreign police services, i. e. the planning, coordination and organisation of basic and advanced training events, working visits and counselling measures and taking care of scholarship holders. The strategic and operational significance of the recipient countries determines the selection and intensity of the respective form of co-operation.
In accordance with the ”source country strategy” (cooperation with countries of origin, transit and destination with reference to certain forms of crime), the BKA concentrates the basic and advanced training of foreign police forces primarily in the areas of international terrorism, drug crime and organised crime, analysis methods, and crime scene work.
The equipment aid that the BKA offers to foreign police authorities includes, for example, the provision of information and communications technology, optical devices for documentation and recovery of evidence or special equipment for carrying out forensic examinations.
In connection with assistance for scholarship holders, after intensive language training police officers from numerous countries receive six months of advanced training as guests of the BKA, working in various areas of specialisation at the BKA and in state police forces.
Institute of Law Enforcement Studies and Training
The Institute of Law Enforcement Studies and Training builds bridges from research to innovative applications in the field of police work and thus opens up new horizons for fighting crime successfully. Working closely with police officers in the field, its task is to identify weak points throughout the spectrum of police crime-fighting activity, to develop suggestions for improvement and new crime-fighting concepts, and to assist with their implementation.
In this way, police authorities are provided with advice and support when new methods for police work are introduced. In individual cases, such service also includes operational advice that involves application of case analysis methods and goes all the way to preparation of personality profiles for unidentified perpetrators.
Institution of higher education - Criminal police
The BKA trains its own officers for service at the higher career level of the Bundeskriminalamt - currently about 60 candidates a year - in the CID Section of the Public Security Division of the Federal College of Public Administration.
Centre for media information
The centre for media information combines offers of the library, literature documentation and Online-services to support research, science and training.