Security Authority (Germany)
In Germany , the term security authorities is not legally defined, except in the state of Bavaria.
In Bavaria it is understood to mean certain authorities that serve to ward off dangers to public safety (see main article ). In other countries, these authorities are referred to as the police authority (Baden-Württemberg, Saxony), the regulatory authority (Berlin, North Rhine-Westphalia) or the regulatory authority (Hessen).
In common parlance, however, the word security authority is used for the authorities that are supposed to protect public safety from danger. They work at home or abroad and are both repressive (persecuting) and preventive (preventive) active.
Security authorities in parlance are:
- Federal Office for Information Security (BSI, preventive)
- Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV, preventive)
- Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA, repressive and preventive)
- Customs Criminal Police Office (ZKA, in the area of the Federal Customs Administration , as part of the General Customs Directorate , repressive and preventive)
- Federal Intelligence Service (BND, only for foreign countries, preventive)
- State offices for the protection of the constitution (LfV, preventive) and corresponding departments in the ministries (Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein)
- State Police and State Criminal Police Offices (LKA) (repressive)
- Military counterintelligence (MAD, in the area of the Bundeswehr , preventive)
Further security-relevant authorities according to the budget law are:
Duties and powers
The Federal Criminal Police Office and the state police have police powers from the above-mentioned authorities. The state authorities for the protection of the constitution, the Federal Office for the protection of the constitution, the Federal Intelligence Service and the military counterintelligence service do not have any of these powers. They act as a preventive intelligence service and thus serve to obtain and evaluate information in their respective areas of responsibility. For the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the restrictions u. a. in Section 2 (1) of the law on cooperation between the Federation and the Länder in matters relating to the protection of the constitution and on the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BVerfSchG) (prohibition of affiliation with a police facility) and Section 8 (3) of the BVerfSchG (prohibition of requests for police Administrative assistance for measures which the office itself is not entitled to). The federal states have similar regulations for their area. The Federal Office for Information Security is primarily active in an advisory capacity for authorities, companies and citizens in the field of encryption, computer protection and similar areas.
Some quarters consider cooperation between the German security authorities to be urgently required because of extremist and terrorist dangers. For it has been specially Joint Counter-Terrorism Center , founded by the security authorities of where about 160 specialists Federal and the countries cooperate in close cooperation. Critics of this center see the danger of a mixture of police and constitution protection tasks. The separation was introduced in Germany between 1933 and 1945 because of the bad experiences with the abundance of power and arbitrariness of the political police (especially the secret state police ).
Security authorities in the countries
(incomplete)
| Country and name of the security authority in the state law | supreme authority | central authorities | Middle authorities | lower authorities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baden-Württemberg, police authorities | Ministry of the Interior, responsible ministry (highest police authority) | Regional councils (state police authorities) | lower administrative authority as district police authority (rural districts, urban districts, large district towns, administrative community), municipality as local police authority | |
| Bavaria, security authorities | State Ministry of the Interior | Governments | District offices, administrative communities, independent municipalities, municipalities | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | Ministry of the Interior (highest police authority) | State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA), State Office for Central Police Services (LZPD NRW), State Office for Training, Advanced Training and Police Personnel Matters (LAFP) | District police authorities, police headquarters (47 since the POG reform of January 1, 2007) |
See also
Web links
- German Security Authorities Website of the Police Union , accessed on December 27, 2017 (overview of the security authorities at federal and state level)
Individual evidence
- ↑ presseportal.de ( Memento of the original from November 17, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
