The Bereitschaftspolizei 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.
Federal Republic
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.
Federal Police
The Bundespolizei maintains 10 rapid reaction battalions 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.
''Länder/''State Police
The state Bereitschaftspolizei units are part of the Landespolizei and are available for crowd control, demonstrations, sport events and to assist the Schutzpolizei when needed. Aside from their primary functions, 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, perform traffic control duty and support regular police officers on patrols. Some states have a hybrid system, where units of the Schutzpolizei may act as units of the Bereitschaftspolizei - they form so-called Alarm-Hundertschaften with units from all Hamburg police stations to respond as fast as possible.
Structure
The structure, equipment and training of Bepo units is standard so that units from different parts of Germany can operate together without any problems. The Bereitschaftspolizei is assigned to barracks and organized into sections, platoons and 120 to 150 person training or rapid reaction companies called Hundertschaften. In most Länder, the Bereitschaftspolizei contingents are formed into 600 - 800 person battalions, but in the six largest Länder they are organized into regiments. Some police forces like Hamburg have additional alert platoons that are part of the state police and manned by regular police officers in case of urgent need when support from the state or the Federal Police is not available. The units are equipped with their own transport and rations allowing them to be deployed quickly to other Länder without having to rely on outside support. They are equipped with a wide varirty of specialised vehicles such as armoured cars, buses, water cannons, earth moving equipment and command and control vehicles. Arrest units give the Bepos special capabilities to secure evidence and arrest perpetrators at events where large crowds normally impede police operations.
