Bundeskriminalamt (BKA)

Functions of the Central Office dealing with "Child pornography"

Child pornography on the Internet is an offence of international dimension. More and more state borders are losing significance - the exchange of data over long distances is unproblematic and possible within a matter of seconds. A circumstance which is causing the law enforcement agencies in Germany, but also throughout the world, to be confronted with enormous challenges.

Against this background, the function of the BKA as the National Central Bureau of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and as the EUROPOL National Unit is becoming particularly important.

Therefore, the field of work "child pornography" at the BKA performs the functions of creating a link between German and foreign law enforcement agencies as well as serving as a national central analysis and coordination centre for these agencies.

All agencies and officers in the police service are obliged to accept criminal complaints. Although this also applies to the Bundeskriminalamt, we have to forward the criminal complaints received here to the competent state police agencies since there is no specific central or nationwide jurisdiction for the prosecution of Internet crime. In order to avoid delays being caused in this way, we recommend that you report to your local police office or the State Criminal Police Office which is within your jurisdiction. An e-mail message should include your telephonic and postal contact details.

Please report your suspicion to one police office only and refrain from calling upon other users via mailing lists to file a complaint, too. Through the parallel processing of identical case-specific facts by several agencies, an unnecessary strain is being put on already scarce resources.

We would discourage you from carrying out your own research since, in the case of sites containing child pornography, downloading per se can be punishable.