For police cooperation to function, information from the federal and state police must be centrally gathered and assessed. That is why the police information system INPOL was set up at the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in the early 1970s. The INPOL system stores information on people and property involved in criminal cases. It makes up the backbone of Germany’s police information system.

The INPOL police information system

Day or night, the INPOL system makes information available to German police officers within seconds. Whether officers query the system from their patrol car, a police station or during a border check at a German airport, INPOL responds quickly and reliably. Who are the police looking for? What are they looking for? Has an arrest warrant been issued? Is the person wanted abroad? Is he or she suspected of belonging to a criminal organisation? Is the car stolen? 

All important information on crimes and criminals of more than purely local or regional significance is stored in INPOL, subject to strict data protection regulations. The Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) regularly reviews compliance with these regulations. 

In addition to the BKA, other authorities with access to the system are the police forces of the federal states, the Federal Police, the police service of the German Bundestag, the Customs authorities and the Federal Motor Transport Authority. These authorities can access personal data just a few seconds after the data have been entered. Entries are automatically deleted according to the data retention periods stipulated in data protection law.

The Schengen Information System

The Schengen Information System (SIS) is the joint EU database on wanted or missing persons and property. It contains files on persons and items only when specific action is to be taken with regard to them, such as arrest, extradition or confiscation in order to serve as evidence. Unlike criminal records, SIS does not contain any data on criminal investigations or cases.

SIS is one of the most significant tools of police cooperation and an important measure to compensate for the end of checks at the borders between EU member states.

The database stores fingerprints and photographs of relevant individuals. Additional information on persons is not shared between the countries involved unless the database shows a match in the specific case. Sharing such information is the task of the national central offices for Supplementary Information Requests at the National Entry (SIRENE). The SIRENE office for Germany is located at the BKA in Wiesbaden.

All authorised agencies in every Schengen state have immediate access to data in SIS, to the extent allowed by their mandates.

Thirty-one countries belong to the SIS network: all 27 EU member states and the associated countries Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Europol and Eurojust too have access to SIS. In Germany, the federal and state police as well as the public prosecutor’s offices can access SIS, as can some 2,000 government authorities.

An upgrade in 2023 introduced additional categories of alerts and greatly improved protection for vulnerable people: preventive alerts are intended to protect children from being abducted and taken to other countries. And fingerprints collected at the scene of serious crimes make it possible to search for unknown suspects. With regard to stolen property, it is now possible to issue alerts for electric vehicles as well.

Date of revision: 01 July 2023