Bereitschaftspolizei

The Bereitschaftspolizei (literally "Readiness Police/On-Call Police (Reserve)", effectively Anti-Riot Police) are the support and rapid reaction units of Germany's police forces. They are composed of detachments from the Federal Police and the State Police forces of Germany.

The Federal Ministry of the Interior maintains an office of the Bereitschaftspolizei in Berlin which monitors and coordinates the deployment of all Bereitschaftspolizei units in Germany. The ministry also provides standardized weapons, vehicles and other equipment.

The Bundespolizei maintains 10 rapid reaction battalions (called Bundespolizeiabteilung or BPA) stationed around the country in Ratzeburg, Uelzen, Blumberg, Bad Düben, Duderstadt, Sankt Augustin, Hünfeld, Bayreuth, Bad Bergzabern and Deggendorf. These units can reinforce the federal police in any sphere of its missions and support the police forces of the Länder. They are also trained to assist local authorities in case of disasters and uprisings. Under new interior ministry plans, the number of Bereitschaftspolizei companies will increase from 28 to 29 comprising approx. 25 percent of Germany’s police support units.

The state Bereitschaftspolizei units are part of the Landespolizei and are available for crowd control duties and to assist the Schupos (Schutzpolizei) when needed. Aside from their primary function of crowd control, in some states they also train police recruits who serve about three years in combined training and service in these police support units. The units of one federal state can be deployed to assist the police of another state in case of riots, civil disturbances as well as catastrophes. Their day-to-day duties vary by locality. In Hamburg they patrol the subway system, assist in raids in the red-light district, are present at large demonstrations and sports events, perform traffic control duty and support local police officers on regular patrols.

The structure, equipment and training of Bepo units is generally standard so that units from different parts of Germany can operate together without any problems.

...
Wikipedia