North Rhine-Westphalia Police
state police of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia
The North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) State Police Force (German: Polizei Nordrhein-Westfalen) is the largest of the 16 German state police forces with around 50,000 personnel.
Detachments
NRW has 47 police detachments. The 18 urban detachments are headed by a President of Police appointed by the NRW state government and the 29 rural detachments are headed by the county chief administration officer elected for five years by municipal elections. So the chief of police is always a civilian assisted by a senior police officer responsible for law enforcement operations. These authorities are supervised by the State Agency for Central Police Services (LZPD) in Duisburg.
State investigation bureau
The NRW Landeskriminalamt in Düsseldorf (LKA NRW) is NRW's state investigation bureau. Although investigations are principally the responsibility of each regional police force, NRW's LKA investigates and prosecutes crimes if the Police Organisation Act requires it or if the Interior Ministry, Ministry of Justice, a court of justice or a public prosecutor's office requests its involvement.
Its director is the only police officer leading an operational police authority in NRW and reports directly to the NRW Interior Ministry. Its six operational departments are the state's central authorities for dealing with serious crime.
Department 1 conducts investigations and analysis of organised crime.
The public source identifies “North Rhine-Westphalia Police” as state police of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around North, Rhine-Westphalia and Police.
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