Kripo
| Kriminalpolizei | |
The Kripo during the Third Reich was under the control of members of the SS.
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | c. 1872 |
| Preceding agency |
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| Superseding agency | |
| Type | Criminal Police |
| Jurisdiction |
 GermanyOccupied Europe |
| Headquarters |
RSHA, Prinz-Albrecht-Straße, Berlin 52°30′26″N 13°22′57″E / 52.50722°N 13.38250°E |
| Employees | 12,792 c. February 1944 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Agency executives |
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| Parent agency |
 SicherheitspolizeiRSHA Allgemeine SS |
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 (Landespolizei) perform the majority of investigations. Its Criminal Investigation Department is known as the Kriminalpolizei or, more colloquially, the Kripo.
The equivalent division of the Norwegian Police is known as Kripos, derived from a similar acronym in Norwegian.
In 1799, six police officers were assigned to the Prussian Kammergericht (superior court of justice) in Berlin to investigate more prominent crimes. They were given permission to work in plainclothes, when necessary. Their number increased in the following years.
In 1811, their rules of service were written into the Berliner Polizeireglement (Berlin Police Regulations) and in 1820 the rank of Kriminalkommissar was introduced for criminal investigators. In 1872 the new Kriminalpolizei was made a separate branch of police service distinguishing it from the uniformed police called Schutzpolizei.
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