RECRUITMENT OF CANDIDATES AND INTERNAL CONTROL AS MEASURES TO PREVENT AND COUNTERACT CRIMINALITY OF THE POLICE IN POLAND

Abstract

The police is an institution serving the society, its task being to enforce the law and take all actions aimed at eliminating its violations. As a uniformed and armed force, it plays an important role in the state security system, including prosecution of individuals who do not comply with applicable legal norms. The police offi cer’s profession enjoys particular respect, but to ensure the correctness of the service performed, only those who meet the requirements specifi ed for this profession can join the ranks of the police. The article presents topics related to the recruitment process, and the role of internal control as elements of crime prevention in the Polish police. A special role has been assigned to recruitment, which is responsible for verifying the admitted people – their character traits, moral attitudes, emotional stability, as well as health and physical fi tness. In turn, the task of control is, on the one hand, to ensure the correctness of service, and on the other hand, to reveal any irregularities and to strive to remove them. The internal control in the police is the responsibility of the Control Bureau at the National Police HQ under the direct supervision of the National Police Chief, Provincial HQ Control Departments under the supervision of the Provincial Police Chiefs, and inspections by designated persons under the supervision of the City Police Chiefs. In addition, new technologies have been introduced in the police for more effective control, including determining the location of offi cers (using the GPS system) and recording interventions (by body-worn cameras). The said technology also has a preventive function against breaking the law. The measure of control affects the number of all crimes revealed in the police environment. The analysis of revealed irregularities has shown that more than 50% of them are corruption-related offences, and therefore this aspect has been widely discussed in the article.