Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft

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Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft
Insignia of the Volkspolizei-Bereitschaft
Active	April 1955 – October 1990
Country	German Democratic Republic
Size	12,000–15,000
Part of	Volkspolizei
Garrison/HQ	East Berlin

The Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften^[1] (VPB, German for "People's Police Alert Units", sometimes known as "Barracked People’s Police" or "Alert Police"^[2]) were paramilitary police units of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1955 to 1990. The VPB were barracked units of the Volkspolizei for riot control and counterinsurgency with regiment status, under control of the Ministry of the Interior and considered part of the armed forces, but were never part of the National People's Army or the Ministry of National Defence.

The VPB were organized as Internal Troops like in many Warsaw Pact countries. The VPB functioned as the de facto armed branch of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi).^[3]