Law enforcement in Poland
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History
Pre 20th century
During the period of the
The Constitution aimed to weaken the
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
Post 1919 Independence until today
In 1919, with the re-independence of the
With the end of World War II and the onset of the
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
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
The Policja (Police) is the national police force of Poland. It is directly responsible to the
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
Several cities and
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
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
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
- Crime in Poland
- Human rights in Poland
- Law in Poland
- Milicja Obywatelska
- Ministry of Interior and Administration of the Republic of Poland
- Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland
- Police corruption in Poland
- Police ranks of Poland
- Prisons in Poland
References
- ^ Charles A. Ruud, Sergei A. Stepanov; Fontanka 16 — The Tsars' Secret Police; McGill-Queen's University Press (paperback, 2002)
- ^ Kutta J., Policja w Polsce Odrodzonej. Wielkopolska i Pomorze 1918–1922, Bydgoszcz 1994.
- ^ Adam Pązik. "Policja Państwowa II RP". Dws-xip.pl. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ "Straż Graniczna - Strona Główna". Archived from the original on 14 May 2015. Retrieved 2015-05-11.
- ^ ":: Military Gendarmerie of The Polish Armed Forces : News". Zw.wp.mil.pl. 15 June 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
- ^ a b "Poland – Emergency Phone Numbers". Staypoland.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2016.