Wikipedia
The Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften (VPB, German for Police Company) were barracked, paramilitary riot and anti-insurgency police units in East Germany, under the control of the (East German) Ministry of the Interior. They had the status of a regiment, and were considered part of the Armed Forces of the German Democratic Republic, even though they were never a part of the National People's Army (NVA) or the Ministry of National Defence (East Germany) and were the militarily armed and trained branch of the Stasi, the Political Police. As such, they were comparable to the Internal Troops of the NKVD in the Soviet Union. They are often confused with the Kasernierte Volkspolizei, the military units of the Volkspolizei, which were transformed into the NVA in 1956.