Law Enforcement in Germany - State Agencies

State Agencies

The German states are responsible for managing the bulk of Germany's police forces. Each state has its own police force known as the Landespolizei (State Police). Each state promulgates a law which lays down the organisation and duties of its police (Landespolizeigesetz or Sicherheits- und Ordnungsgesetz). Although the Land police are regulated by sixteen different legislatures and are, in fact, different police forces, there has been an increasing tendency toward standardization of police activities nationwide. Concerns about terrorism and the growth of organized crime have strengthened the movement to centralize police procedures and operations. The idea of creating one single police code for the whole of Germany (allgemeines Polizeigesetz) came up in the 1960s but was never passed.

These forces are organized by cities, towns, or rural communities, but all are integral components of the police forces of the Land in which they are located. The Land minister of interior supervises police operations in his or her jurisdiction. Although the internal organizations differ somewhat, all Land police are divided into Protective Police (Schutzpolizei--"Schupos"), a uniformed service carrying out routine law and order duties, and Criminal Police (Kriminalpolizei--"Kripos"), who carry out criminal investigations. The separate Administrative Police formerly had duties that included the registration of residents and the issuance of passports, identity cards, and various permits. These functions have been transferred to civil government departments in nearly all Länder .

Although uniforms and vehicle colour schemes are similar all over Germany, the police forces are structured slightly differently in each state. For example, the Kriminalpolizei (detective branch, often shortened to Kripo) are part of the ordinary police force in some states and separate organizations in others.

The idea of using the same colour for police uniforms and vehicles throughout the European Union has resulted in German police forces slowly changing vehicle liveries from white/green to silver/blue. The silver colour is actually increasing the resale value and thus lowers leasing costs (most states lease their cars nowadays). The blue colour is part of the standardizations. The uniforms have also changed in most states from the green/beige version introduced in 1979 to blue. Hamburg was the first state to make the transition. In most states, newly acquired vehicles and helicopters get the new colour scheme, except for Bavaria and Saarland, which for the time being will stick to the old green/white-or-silver scheme for their vehicles and uniforms.