Germany

In principle, the federal constitutional order bestows the sovereignty in police matters on the federal states within their territory. However, the Basic Law confers jurisdiction in core policing issues on federal authorities. As a result of this distribution of competencies, there are sixteen state police agencies, whose powers of intervention are governed by the police laws of the Länder and by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Falling under the Federal Ministry of Finances, the Customs Investigation Service is responsible for combating customs-related crimes. Its main activities are:

• preventing and prosecuting crimes and detecting unknown offences within its jurisdiction;
• combating drugs crime;
• violations of the foreign trade act;
• combating customs duty and excise tax violations, in particular in the field of tobacco products, mineral oil and alcohol fraud;
• violations of the rules of the common agricultural market;
• Prohibitions and restrictions such as firearms, illegal waste disposal and illegal traffic in endangered species (CITES);
• Money laundering / asset recovery for the above mentioned customs related crimes;
• other duties assigned within the jurisdiction of the financial authorities.

Since 1st January 2016, Germany has a central customs authority under the Federal Ministry of Finance. The Central customs authority consists of 9 divisions. Division VIII, the Customs Investigation Service (ZKA) serves as a connecting link between the Ministry of Finance and local authorities, the eight Customs Investigations Offices.

The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) - which acts as the EUROPOL National Unit (ENU) for Germany - is Germany´s central agency for police information and communication. It provides support to all Federal police forces and coordinates national crime suppression activities. The BKA also conducts investigations in its own jurisdiction.

As an agency subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior, the BKA is tasked by German Police forces including Landespolizei when criminal investigations take on an international dimension. Through its operations and coordination center, a 24-hour service center, known as the Kriminaldauerdienst, the BKA is able to take immediate action when investigations, searches and international communications require it.

The BKA has the jurisdiction to conduct investigations relating to:

• International trafficking in weapons, ammunition, explosives or drugs;
• Internationally organized production or exchange of counterfeit currency;
• Internationally organized money laundering;
• Internationally organized terrorism;
• Serious cases of computer sabotage.

Responsible for all serious crime investigations, the BKA also helps its national law enforcement partners in:

• Forensic identification and sciences;
• Research and criminal analysis;
• Criminology and criminal investigation;
• Researching and developing new police methods;
• Developing new working methods aimed at suppressing crime.

The BKA has national mandate for:

• the protection of members of Germanys federal constitutional bodies and, in specific cases, their foreign guests;
• the prevention and suppression of politically motivated crime.

With offices in Wiesbaden, Berlin and Meckenheim, the BKA employs more than 5,500 men and women. With their specialized knowledge and expertise in the fields of criminal sciences, information technology and administration, they cover a broad spectrum of activity. Approximately half of them are fully trained criminal police officers. The others come from more than 70 different occupational groups.

The task of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution is to gather and analyse information and other intelligence about activities:

• directed against the liberal and democratic fundamental order, or against the existence or security of the Federation as a whole or of one of the Länder, or which - through unlawful means - aim to restrict the ability of the constitutional organs of the Federation or the Länder to fulfil their duties;
• endangering the security of the Federal Republic of Germany, or intelligence activities on behalf of a foreign power;
• endangering, or preparing to endanger, the foreign interests of the Federal Republic of Germany by the use of force;
• directed against the concept of international understanding, in particular peaceful co-existence. In addition, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution fulfils certain tasks in connection with security checks of persons. As well as the Federal Office, the Länder have their own domestic intelligence services, which fall under the state’s Ministry of the Interior.

The Federal Police is a police force under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of the Interior. Its major tasks include:

• protecting Germany’s borders;
• railway policing;
• aviation security;
• protecting federal constitutional bodies and ministries;
• law enforcement on the high seas including environmental protection and shipping;
• participating in police and non-military tasks in international missions under the supervision of the United Nations, European Union and other international organisations.