The State Criminal Police Office, or Landeskriminalamt (LKA) in German, is an independent law enforcement agency in all 16 German states that is directly subordinate to the state's ministry of the interior.

Missions

Investigations

LKAs supervise police operations aimed at preventing and investigating criminal offences, and coordinate investigations of serious crime involving more than one ''Präsidium'' (regional headquarters). They can take over investigative responsibility in cases of serious crime, e.g. drug trafficking, organized crime, environmental and

white-collar crime The term "white-collar crime" refers to financially motivated, nonviolent or non-directly violent crime committed by individuals, businesses and government professionals. It was first defined by the sociologist Edwin Sutherland in 1939 as "a ...

or extremist and terrorist offences.

Crime analysis

Each ''Landeskriminalamt'' is also a modern central office for information, analyzing

police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...

intelligence from home and abroad and transmitting it to police stations. It collates data on criminal offences and offenders in crime statistics that are used as a basis for new strategies, policy decisions, and legislative initiatives. It also analyzes certain offense areas, evaluates the police measures executed in each case, forecasts expected tendencies, and describes events in annual reports.

Forensics

The LKA maintains forensic equipment for central examination of evidence using the latest scientific methods (e.g. DNA analysis, Automatic Fingerprint Identification System).

Special missions

LKAs also coordinate support for local police in hostage, kidnapping, and blackmail situations and provide experts in such cases, e.g., the SWAT team ''

Spezialeinsatzkommando ''Spezialeinsatzkommando'' (SEK, "Special Task Force") are police tactical units of each of the 16 German State Police forces. Along with the ''Mobile Einsatzkommando'' (MEK), ''Personenschutzkommando'' (bodyguards), and the ''Verhandlungsgruppe'' ...

'', the negotiation group or bomb disposal experts. It is also the central office for physical security technology and crime prevention, and coordinates state anti-drug programs.