Training system of the Polish police officers – in the past and today

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One of the most important areas of activity of the Police, which plays a fundamental role in shaping the internal security of the state, is the educational activity of training centres for these formations. Although they do not deal directly with performance of statutory tasks their importance in the area of, among other things, quality of services, development of formation culture and its identity and elitism is undisputed. The overriding role of police education is to prepare highly specialised staff in strategic areas of combating crime. This staff will effectively perform the statutory tasks of the formation, connected, among others, with the protection of state security and the public order, protection of human life, health and property, as well as widely understood criminological prophylaxis. For a very long time, education has been a fundamental and universal determinant of human development. Educational activity is the basic condition determining, first of all, moral development of a person. Pedagogical activity is a function of cultural development of societies and an opportunity to overcome prejudices and stereotypes. The position of education in the structure of the state's objectives determines its development in the long run in practically all areas. This study is an attempt to systematically look at one of the elements of the internal security subsystem of the state which is modern police education. The system of training and in-service development of the Police in Poland has been a subject of great interest for many years. Currently, the Polish Police are on the verge of major organisational changes which will also result in structural changes in the educational system. The system of training of the largest uniformed formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration is the basis for effective and professional training of the police personnel in all kinds of executive and managerial positions. The current solutions in this area are an effect of a specific evolution both in the organizational and structural dimension. The author's intention is to present the issues of Polish police officers training from the moment of the establishment of the State Police to the present day, with particular attention paid to the way of organizing the system of training and in-service development of police officers.