✚9272✚ German post WW2 Auxiliary Police Reserve Berlin Honour Badge in Bronze

Original German post WW2 Auxiliary Police Reserve Berlin (Berliner Freiwillige Polizei-Reserve - FPR) Honour Pin Badge in Bronze, IN FINE CONDITION, VERY GOOD CASED & NUMBERED EXAMPLE: "6434", A REALLY NICE PIECE, RARE AWARD

HISTORY OF THE AWARD:

Auxiliary Police Reserve Berlin (Berliner Freiwillige Polizei-Reserve - FPR) Honour Pin Badge - These numbered awards were given to members of the Auxiliary Police Reserve in Berlin in three grades: Bronze, Silver & Gold. All badges were numbered on the reverse. The obverse is a metal star-shaped badge featuring at its centre a black bear within a shield beneath a crown (coats of arms of Berlin). The badge is roughly 19 mm in diameter, its hard case is 88 x 40 x 20 mm. The Auxiliary Police Reserve (Freiwillige Polizei-Reserve - FPR) was an auxiliary police service of the German state of Berlin. It was founded on 25 May 1961 as reaction to the emerging Combat Groups of the Working Class and should originally help out the Berlin Police in riots and to defend West-Berlin in case of an attack (urban warfare and object protection). For this purpose, the police reservists were trained in the utilisation of carbines, pistols and submachine guns. In 1999, the auxiliary police force was renamed to Freiwilliger Polizeidienst and shut down in 2002 for financial reasons. Varying according to the legislation of individual states, auxiliary police forces have been established in modern Germany. The denominations differ between Voluntary Police Force (Freiwilliger Polizeidienst), Security Watch (Sicherheitswacht) or Security Partner (Sicherheitspartner). These police forces are intended to maintain or establish public security and order throughout their assigned territories. At present auxiliary police services exist in the states of Baden-Württemberg, Brandenburg, Bavaria, Hesse and Saxony; each under the supervision of the responsible state police force. The establishment of a voluntary police service is the sole responsibility of each state. While the voluntary police service in Baden-Württemberg was already established in May 1963, Hesse decided to create its own auxiliary force in 2000. Volunteering is often limited to 40 hours per month and without any salary, but the volunteer receives certain benefits. Membership is not perceived as a professional appointment but rather as fulfilling a functional role in the state-social community. In some states the volunteers in service are rated as having the same legal standing as full-time police officers.