Organization
The Volkspolizei executed traditional police duties such as investigation and traffic control. The VP transferred most of their reports to the Ministry of State Security (MfS) and the high density of MfS informants in the GDR, especially in the forces, meant that every police action and investigation could be monitored as besides the official MfS liaison-officer (VO-Verbindungsoffizier), the MfS had agents in nearly every police unit.
The Volkspolizei was a national police force and was directly administered by and subordinate only to the Ministry of the Interior.
Rather than the civil service status that West German police enjoyed, each Volkspolizist had a personal contract with the government. The monthly salary was above the average income.
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