Kriminalpolizei (ˌkrɪmiˈnaːlpoliˌt͡saɪ̯, "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, the Kripo was the criminal police department for the entire Reich. 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.
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.
Based on the experience with this new kind of police force, other German states—such as Bremen in 1852—reformed their police forces and by the end of the nineteenth century the Kriminalpolizei had been established nationwide. During the early part of the 20th century and post-World War I, the Kripo continued to serve as the German state's investigative agency for all criminal activity.
Kriminalpolizei (Nazi Germany)
After Adolf Hitler assumed national power in January 1933, the Kriminalpolizei came to be under the control of members of the Schutzstaffel (SS). The Nazis began a programme of "coordination" of all aspects of German life, in order to consolidate their hold on power. In July 1936, the Prussian central criminal investigation department (Landeskriminalpolizeiamt) became the central criminal investigation department for Germany, the Reichskriminalpolizeiamt.