Gemeindepolizei (Nazi Germany)

Municipalities with more than 2,000 residents, not having a State protection police presence, had to have a municipal police department. In municipalities with less than 2,000 residents, the Gendarmerie was in charge of police protection. During the war, it was planned to extend the responsibility of the Gendarmerie to all towns with less than 5,000 residents, but it did not take place except to a very limited extent. In 1942 municipal police departments existed in 1,338 municipalities with more than 5,000 residents. Of these, five had more than 100,000 residents; 22 had 50–100,00, 591 had 10–50,000, and 720 had 5–10,000 residents.^[1]

In smaller towns, the Bürgermeister was police commissioner. He was subordinated to the Landrat as head of the Landkreis police administration. In a city that constituted its own Stadtkreis, the Oberbürgermeister was both police commissioner and head of the district police administration. As such he was subordinated to the Regierungspräsident in each Regierungsbezirk. Under the police commissioners the municipal police departments were led by professional chiefs of police.

Source:^[2]