Kriminalpolizei

Kriminalpolizei (English: Criminal Police) is the standard term for the criminal investigation agency within the police forces of Germany, Austria and the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland. In Nazi Germany during 1936, the Kripo became the Criminal Police Department for the entire Reich. In September 1939, the Kripo became Amt V (Department V), the Criminal Police in the RSHA; which was also known as the Reichskriminalpolizeiamt (Reich Criminal Police Department or RKPA). Today, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the state police or Landespolizei perform the majority of investigations. Its Criminal Investigation Department is known as the Kriminalpolizei or, more colloquially, the Kripo.