Verfassungsschutz

Verfassungsschutz (literally, Protector of the Constitution) is the name for any of Germany's federal and state-based secret services for the interior. The most prominent (and well-funded) example is the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. However, due to the federal structure of Germany, individual states (Bundesländer) have their own internal secret services. Coordination between the different services is an ongoing problem.