Law enforcement in Poland

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

National Police Headquarters in Warsaw

Police (Policja), City Guards (named in urban areas "Straż Miejska" or in rural areas "Straż Gminna", which is a type of municipal police), and several smaller specialised agencies. The Prokuratura Krajowa (the Polish public prosecutor) and an independent judiciary
also play an important role in the maintenance of law and order.

History

Pre 20th century

During the period of the

3 May Constitution
.

The Constitution aimed to weaken the

army
, provided for by the state and subordinate only to the king and authorities of the national government.

As a result of the 1772–95 partitions of Poland, and subsequent rule of the partitioning powers (Austria-Hungary, Germany and Russia), the authority of King Stanisław August collapsed, and the former territories of the commonwealth came under the direct supervision of their partitioning powers' law enforcement services.[1]

In Austrian-controlled

Galicia, the Imperial Gendarmerie became responsible for preserving public order and later became known for being arguably the least oppressive of the three occupying powers. In both the Russian and German territories of former Poland, it was widely reported that law enforcement agencies and paramilitaries engaged in both the oppression of Polish political organisations and the forced assimilation of local culture with those of their own nations.[2]

Post 1919 Independence until today

Mounted officer of the inter-war Policja Państwowa

In 1919, with the re-independence of the

Military Gendarmerie.[5]

With the end of World War II and the onset of the

communist period, the new Soviet backed government decided to radically change to structure of policing in Poland; the state 'Policja' was renamed as the 'Milicja Obywatelska
' (Citizen's Militia), a name which was meant to reflect a change in the role of the police, from an instrument of oppression ensuring the position of the bourgeoisie, to a force composed of, and at the service of 'normal citizens'.

The reality turned out to be largely the opposite, and the Milicja instead represented a rather state-controlled force which was used to exert political repression on the citizens. The Milicja was, for the most part, detested by the general populace; events such as the police's conduct during the

Gdańsk Shipyard Strike and surrounding the Popiełuszko affair, only worsened the people's view of their law enforcement agencies.[citation needed
]

After the fall of the communist government in Poland, the system was reformed once again, this time reviving the pre-war name of 'Policja' and albeit with a few minor changes, the general system of law-enforcement of the Second Republic.

Police

Policja officers and vehicles

The Policja (Police) is the national police force of Poland. It is directly responsible to the

counter-terrorism. They can be contacted by calling "997" from any telephone.[6]

As Poland is a very centralised state, regional law enforcement agencies do not exist in the way that they do in the United States, Canada, Germany or the United Kingdom. While voivodeship (regional) commands exist within the organisational structure of the Policja, the regional authorities do not have any major say in law enforcement policy.

City Guard

City guards in Łodz

Several cities and

firearms. They can be contacted by calling "986" from any telephone.[6]

The tasks of the Polish city guards include protecting public peace and order, safeguarding communal facilities and public utilities, traffic control, managing public events, dealing with intoxicated individuals in public, crime prevention, and escorting valuable documents and items for the municipality. They have the authority to issue warnings, impose fines for violations, identify individuals when there is reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed, arrest those who pose an immediate threat, and, in isolated cases, conduct body searches.

Other law enforcement and security agencies

Central Investigation Bureau of Police during a training exercise
Straż Graniczna (Border Guard) in parade uniform walks with colleagues from the Służba Celno-Skarbowa
(Customs Service)
Służba ochrony państwa presidential escort

In addition to the Policja and the City Guards, there are also several specialised agencies which operate with more specific objectives.

  • Centralne Biuro Śledcze Policji
    : Police agency dealing with countering organised crime.
  • counter-terrorism. It is analogous to the American Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and British Security Service (MI5). It is responsible directly to the Prime Minister
    .
  • government
    .
  • private sectors. It was founded in 2006, and is responsible directly to the Prime Minister
    .
  • customs duties, mostly at Poland's borders, and is responsible to the Ministry of Finance
    .
  • Ministry of Defence
    .
  • Służba Więzienna (English: Prison Service)
  • Straż Graniczna (English: Border Guard): Responsible for border protection at land borders and other points of entry, such as airports.
  • Straż Ochrony Kolei
    (English: Railway Protection Guard): security unit protecting railway infrstructure. Found operating at railway stations and on trains.
  • Ministry of Defence
    .
  • Straż Marszałkowska
    : Police of the Parliament of Poland, responsible for the security of the deputies and senators as well as of the buildings of the legislative branch.

Transportation and equipment

The Policja are routinely armed, and use a variety of marked and unmarked cars, vans, motorbikes and other vehicles. Their most common patrol car is currently the

Kia Cee'd
.

Other law enforcement agencies operate more standardised fleets which usually contain only one or two vehicle models. This is usually because City Guards source all the cars of their small fleets from one firm to reduce cost, whilst more specialised services buy large fleets of vehicles specific to their requirements, an example of which would be the large use of all-terrain Land Rover Defenders by the Border Guard.

See also

References

  1. ^ Charles A. Ruud, Sergei A. Stepanov; Fontanka 16 — The Tsars' Secret Police; McGill-Queen's University Press (paperback, 2002)
  2. ^ Kutta J., Policja w Polsce Odrodzonej. Wielkopolska i Pomorze 1918–1922, Bydgoszcz 1994.
  3. ^ Adam Pązik. "Policja Państwowa II RP". Dws-xip.pl. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  4. ^ "Straż Graniczna - Strona Główna". Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
  5. ^ ":: Military Gendarmerie of The Polish Armed Forces : News". Zw.wp.mil.pl. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Poland – Emergency Phone Numbers". Staypoland.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.

External links