Federal Investigation Bureau
Encyclopedia
The Federal Criminal Police Office was created in Austria
as a federal police force to effectively combat crime nationwide and to perform international police cooperation functions. This happened in 2002 with a special law called the Federal Investigation Bureau Law (Bundeskriminalamtgesetz) . The .BK is also sometimes referred to as the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service. It should not be confused with the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany
which is also called the Bundeskriminalamt but abbreviated BKA.
and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
. It is therefore not directly linked with the Federal Police, which is a separate organisation within the General Directorate of Public Safety. This new organisation was conceived as a better solution to combatting supraregional and serious crime due to its structure, specially trained personnel and equipment.
(Bundeskanzleramt) which is abbreviated "BKA". The full stop before the BK is part of the corporate design of the Interior Ministry. The .BK's headquarter is in the Alsergrund
district of Vienna on Josef-Holaubek-Platz which is named after a former superintendent of the Viennese police.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
as a federal police force to effectively combat crime nationwide and to perform international police cooperation functions. This happened in 2002 with a special law called the Federal Investigation Bureau Law (Bundeskriminalamtgesetz) . The .BK is also sometimes referred to as the Austrian Criminal Intelligence Service. It should not be confused with the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany
Federal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
which is also called the Bundeskriminalamt but abbreviated BKA.
Missions
The main missions of the .BK are international cooperation, investigations, crime prevention and collating crime statistics. It is Austria’s national central bureau for the European Police Office (Europol), Schengen Information SystemSchengen Information System
The Schengen Information System , is a governmental database used by European countries to maintain and distribute information on individuals and pieces of property of interest. The intended uses of this system are for national security, border control and law enforcement purposes...
and International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
Structure
The .BK is subordinate to the Generaldirektion für die öffentliche Sicherheit (General Directorate of Public Security) in the Federal Interior Ministry in ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. It is therefore not directly linked with the Federal Police, which is a separate organisation within the General Directorate of Public Safety. This new organisation was conceived as a better solution to combatting supraregional and serious crime due to its structure, specially trained personnel and equipment.
Facts
The abbreviation ".BK" was chosen so as not to be confused with the Austrian Federal Chancellor's OfficeFederal Chancellery of Austria
In the Austrian Federal Government, the Federal Chancellery is an agency serving the executive office of the Chancellor of Austria. Its primary function is to align the government's politics and information activities, it also represents the executive on federal level in matters concerning the...
(Bundeskanzleramt) which is abbreviated "BKA". The full stop before the BK is part of the corporate design of the Interior Ministry. The .BK's headquarter is in the Alsergrund
Alsergrund
Alsergrund is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria . It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburbs. The area is densely populated, with a lot of government-built housing. According to the census of 2001, there were...
district of Vienna on Josef-Holaubek-Platz which is named after a former superintendent of the Viennese police.