Bundeskriminalamtes

What Bundeskriminalamtes does

The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is Germany's federal criminal police office, headquartered in Wiesbaden and established in March 1951 as the successor to the Criminal Police Office for the British Zone. Operating under the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community and governed by the Bundeskriminalamtgesetz (BKAG), it functions as the central hub of German policing and the national contact point for Europol and Interpol, coordinating investigations of terrorism, organized crime, cybercrime, and other serious crimes with national or international significance. BKA also provides personal protection services for constitutional body members and witness protection in its own cases.

Its service portfolio is non-commercial and comprises three interlocking layers: (i) public-facing services for German citizens — the Fahndungen wanted-persons search, the Hinweisportal tip-off portal, the Onlinewache online reporting portal, and the Feststellungsbescheide firearm classification decisions; (ii) inter-agency coordination platforms — GTAZ (counter-terrorism), GETZ (extremism and terrorism defence), NCAZ (cyber defence), GIZ (common internet centre), and ZMI (central reporting point for criminal internet content); and (iii) specialized operational and research capabilities — INPOL, AFIS, DAD, and PIAV police information systems, the DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025/17020-accredited Kriminaltechnisches Institut (KT) forensic institute, the Operative Fallanalyse criminal profiling unit, and recurring research outputs including the Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (PKS) and Bundeslagebilder situation assessments.

BKA's business model is fully public-sector: it does not charge citizens for its core services, generates no commercial revenue, and is funded through annual allocations from the German federal budget. Its go-to-market motion is direct-to-government — to state police forces (Länderpolizeien), federal police, and international law enforcement partners — supplemented by a public information and prevention program (ProPK) for citizens. The agency employs more than 7,000 staff across 70+ professional groups at three locations (Wiesbaden, Berlin, Meckenheim) and operates one of the world's broadest international liaison networks, with BKA officers deployed in roughly two-thirds of all countries and over 100 foreign liaison officers from more than 40 states hosted at BKA or German diplomatic missions.

Name

Bundeskriminalamtes

Legal name

Bundeskriminalamt

Website

https://bka.de

Company type

Public

Founded year

1951

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is Germany's federal criminal police office, coordinating national and international investigations into terrorism, organized crime, and cybercrime for the German government and citizens.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Federal Law Enforcement

NAICS

Police Protection (92212)

SIC

Services-Detective, Guard & Armored Car Services (7381)

akta.pro primary industry

Organized Retail Crime (ORC) Investigations & Case Building (BPAKAJAH)

Keywords

• Federal law enforcement
• Criminal investigation services
• Cybercrime prevention
• Forensic analysis services
• Police information systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Wiesbaden

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Government Budget Allocation: As a German federal government agency, the BKA is funded through the federal budget. It does not generate commercial revenue. The agency receives annual budget allocations from the German federal government to carry out its law enforcement mandate.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, operating as the central federal law enforcement agency. It investigates serious and organized crime, terrorism, cybercrime, and international crime; coordinates police cooperation between federal and state authorities; maintains national police information systems (AFIS, INPOL, DNA database, PIAV); provides forensic and criminal-technical services; and delivers public-facing services such as wanted-persons search, crime statistics, and tip-off portals.

Product overview

Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) is Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, functioning as an internationally active central hub for German police. Rather than a commercial product company, BKA provides law enforcement services and public safety resources including crime statistics, wanted persons searches, forensic analysis, and inter-agency coordination. Its portfolio includes public-facing services such as the Fahndungen (wanted persons search) portal, Polizeiliche Kriminalstatistik (police crime statistics) and Bundeslagebilder (federal situation reports); operational databases like INPOL, AFIS, DAD, and PIAV; specialized units including the Kriminaltechnisches Institut (forensic science institute), the Mobile Einsatzkommando (MEK), and the Zentrale Meldestelle für strafbare Inhalte im Internet (ZMI); and cooperation centers such as the Gemeinsames Terrorismusabwehrzentrum (GTAZ) and Nationales Cyber-Abwehrzentrum. BKA also maintains educational and prevention programs including Forum KI, the BKA-Herbsttagung, Cybercrime Conference C3, and the Polizeiliche Kriminalprävention (ProPK) program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fahndungen (Wanted Persons and Items Search)

Quantifiable outcome

• Operation Endgame success: Three dangerous malware variants taken offline (June 2026)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Joint Counter-Terrorism Centre (Gemeinsames Terrorismusabwehrzentrum - GTAZ)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2004GTAZ is a joint centre established in December 2004 at the BKA location in Berlin, where information on international terrorism is compiled and analyzed by various agencies including police and intelligence services of the federal and state governments.
• Joint Extremism and Terrorism Defence Centre (GETZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerA joint centre for extremism and terrorism defence coordination among German security agencies.
• National Cyber Defence Centre (Nationales Cyber-Abwehrzentrum - NCAZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint centre for cyber defence coordination addressing cybersecurity threats at national level.
• Common Internet Centre (Gemeinsames Internetzentrum - GIZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint internet centre for coordinated response to online criminal activities.
• Europol (European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBKA serves as the central contact point for Europol in Germany. As a national central bureau, BKA coordinates EU-wide law enforcement cooperation, information exchange, and joint operations through Europol.
• Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization - IKPO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBKA serves as the National Central Bureau (NCB) for Interpol in Germany, coordinating international police cooperation with Interpol member countries worldwide for criminal investigation support and notices.
• Schengen Information System (SIS)coreTechnology or IntegrationBKA serves as the central office for the Schengen Information System in Germany, managing alerts for persons and objects across Schengen area border controls.
• Central Reporting Point for Criminal Content on the Internet (ZMI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerZMI is a centralized hub for receiving and processing reports of criminal content on the internet, coordinating between civil society reporting platforms and law enforcement authorities.
• Police Forces of the Federal States (Länderpolizeien)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBKA coordinates with state police forces across Germany for crime prevention and criminal investigation, sharing information and providing specialized support for cross-regional and international cases.
• Federal Police (Bundespolizei)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in joint terrorism and crime prevention centres including GTAZ.
• International Liaison Officers NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBKA maintains liaison officers in approximately two-thirds of all countries worldwide. Additionally, over 100 liaison officers from more than 40 states have offices at BKA or at diplomatic missions in Germany, enabling extensive international cooperation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciaire (DCPJ) - France: Central directorate of the French National Police responsible for judicial police, organized crime, counter-terrorism, and forensics. Closest French functional equivalent to BKA's investigative mandate.
• Bundeskriminalamt (Austria): Austrian federal criminal police office operating under the Federal Ministry of the Interior with mandates in counter-terrorism, organized crime, and cybercrime. Direct structural and functional peer to BKA.
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP): Canada's federal police service handling national security, organized crime, cybercrime, and forensics, with international liaison capacity. Comparable to BKA in scope and federal coordination role.
• UK National Crime Agency (NCA): British federal-level agency leading the fight against serious and organized crime, cybercrime, and border-related criminality. Directly comparable to BKA in mandate, international cooperation posture, and analytic/forensic function.
• Australian Federal Police (AFP): Australia's federal law enforcement agency with responsibility for counter-terrorism, transnational organized crime, and cybercrime, plus international liaison via AFP posts worldwide. Strong functional analogue to BKA.
• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): U.S. federal criminal investigation and domestic intelligence agency. Closest direct counterpart to BKA in scope: federal jurisdiction, counter-terrorism, cybercrime, organized crime, forensic services, and international liaison through legal attachés.
• Polizia di Stato (Italian State Police): Italy's national civilian police force covering criminal investigation, cybercrime, counter-terrorism, and forensic services through specialist divisions. Direct European peer to BKA.

Broad incumbents

• Europol: EU agency for law enforcement cooperation that BKA interfaces with as Germany's national contact point. Comparable analytical and coordination capability but at EU-wide scope rather than single-country focus.
• Interpol: International organization facilitating cross-border police cooperation, for which BKA serves as Germany's National Central Bureau. Operates at global coordination level rather than national enforcement level.

Regional players

• Bundespolizei (Germany): Germany's federal police focused on border protection, railway and aviation security, and federal-property policing. Not a direct criminal-investigation peer but operates alongside BKA in joint counter-terrorism and crime prevention structures.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bka
• Facebookfacebook.com/bundeskriminalamt.bka
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bundeskriminalamt

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bundeskriminalamtes