Legal experience regarding the reform of the police forces of the Republic of Poland: theory and practice

Abstract

The article contains a study of normative regulation and the specifics of the organization of police forces in Poland. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the law on the police of 1990, as well as other normative acts in this area.

Police reform was facilitated by the determination of the political elites of Poland regarding the priorities of social transformations, which were embodied in 1996 in the National Integration Strategy, a document that outlined the content of the reforms [ , p. 278]. From a political body that was an important attribute of the communist regime, in a few decades the Police of Poland turned into a police organization based on fundamentally new principles, which as of March 2016 was trusted by more than 72% of polled Poles.

Legislative foundations. As noted, in the Republic of Poland, a special law on police forces was approved back in 1990, during the first steps of reforming society and the state. The Police Law of April 6, 1990 (hereinafter - the Law) was amended by 137 acts (laws and decisions of the Constitutional Tribunal) by the end of 2017. In addition to the Law, the normative basis of the activities of the Polish police is a number of subordinate legal acts, namely: the order of the Council of Ministers “On the methods of proceedings in the exercise of certain powers of the police” dated 26.07.2005, the order of the Council of Ministers “On the determination of cases, as well as conditions and methods of use of direct coercion by the police” dated 17.09.1990, the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration “On Arming the Police” dated 15.11.2000, the order of the Council of Ministers “On special conditions and methods of proceedings in the use of firearms and ambushes by the police use of firearms by departments and subdivisions of the police” dated 19.07.2005, the order of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration “On police uniforms” dated 20.05.2009, the directive of the Chief Commandant of the Police “On the actions of police officers against road users who use diplomatic or consular immunities and privileges, and who enjoy domestic immunities” dated 03.01.2006, “Principles of professional ethics of a police officer” (approved by the order of the chief commandant of the police dated 31.12.2003 No. 805), etc.

It was concluded that the main factor in the reform of the Polish police was the obligation to implement the standards and values of EU police activity, the accession to which was a strategic goal of the state.