Voluntary Police Reserve
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The Voluntary Police Reserve in Berlin , abbreviated to FPR, supplemented the Berlin police in West Berlin from 1961 to 2002, especially during the time of the Wall (1961–1989) .
history
The establishment of the police reserve was a reaction of the West Berlin Senate to the introduction of the factory combat groups in the eastern part of the city. Its members should be used to relieve the regular police in the event of politically staged unrest or an attack on West Berlin. Senator Joachim Lipschitz declared in 1961:
"We do not want to make men soldiers again or for the first time in a short training course, but simply instruct them how to counter local troublemakers quickly and effectively and how to avoid serious damage to people and property, possibly even bloodshed."
On May 25, 1961, the Voluntary Police Reserve Act came into force. On September 27, 1961, the first members were appointed to service after completing their training.
The initial training lasted two weeks: basics of moving in formation and in the field, marching and night exercises , rules for the use of weapons for baton , toggle chain , pistol, carbine 98 , American rapid-fire rifle , English submachine gun StenMark 2. During the training, a baggy station wagon with a field cap was carried.
After the training, the FPR man was assigned to a protected object, e.g. B. Te 88 = Tempelhof Town Hall . The recall for repetitive exercises or missions happened in the individual departments with different intensity.
The main tasks included property protection (town halls, gas, water and electricity works, broadcasting houses and other important public facilities). After the biggest confrontation had been resolved with the pass agreement , FPR patrols were also used in the area of securing school routes and monitoring stationary traffic. Normally, FPR members were assigned to work twice a year for two weeks each time and were released from their employer who received compensation during these times. For this reason about two thirds of the FPR members (until 1986 or 1987 exclusively men) belonged to the public service. In addition to the patrol duty, the FPR members were continuously trained in all police subject areas. While on duty, FPR members wore blue uniforms and were armed with firearms.
Right-wing extremists in the FPR
In 1993, the police chief Hagen Saberschinsky was forced to reassess the voluntary police reserve, which he had previously praised with
"It is particularly important to me to convey to you in this way how extremely important and significant I rate the contribution of the FPR to the internal security of our city ..."
After a review it turned out that around 500 of the almost 2500 members had a problematic past. Some of them appeared under criminal law, others were close to the right-wing extremist spectrum.
Renaming and dissolution
After that, the FPR was renamed Voluntary Police Service (FPD) in 1999 and dissolved in 2002. The CDU has been calling for the reorganization since 2003 and has also announced this for election victories, but was unable to prevail.
Badge of honor
Badges of honor were introduced especially for this police unit, through which special merits of members of the Voluntary Police Reserve are to be honored accordingly. The honorary badge was first awarded in 1986. The first version of the badges of honor was awarded in 1971. A second version followed in 1979 and remained until 1984. When the police reserve, now known as Voluntary Police Service, was dissolved in 2002, the awards remained. However, since they have not been or cannot be awarded since then, it is probably the only West German decoration that actually no longer exists.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Farewell to the volunteer police service. ( online )
- ↑ Police scandal. Neo-Nazis and crooks on patrol in Berlin. In: Focus . February 15, 1993 ( online )
- ↑ Berlin deputies involved in murders? In: Focus. February 23, 1993 ( online )
- ↑ Police reserve falls again into the twilight Berliner Zeitung January 5, 1996
- ^ Reserve never has rest The neverending story of the volunteer police reserve Berlin civil rights & police / CILIP 66 (2/2000) by Wolfgang Wieland
- ↑ CDU wants to reintroduce vigilante groups in Berlin from February 28, 2011, accessed on May 22, 2013
- ↑ Badge of Honor 10 Years Version 1
- ↑ Badge of Honor 10 Years Version 2
- ↑ History of the award at ordensmuseum.de