The Volkspolizei-Bereitschaften (VPB, German for "People's Police Alert Units") 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 anti-insurgency 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 functioned as the de facto armed branch of the Ministry for State Security (Stasi), the secret police force of the German Democratic Republic.