One Hundred Years of the Community Police Officer Institution inPoland: From an Administrative-Control Model to Partnership withthe Local Community

Abstract

The year 2026 marks the centenary of the formal introduction of the neighbourhood police officer into the Polish internal security system. This article focuses on the evolution of the role of this type of officer, from a control-and-administration model to the concept of a first-point-of-contact police officer, whose activities are based on the principles of community policing. The analysis covers the period from the Second Polish Republic, through the Polish People’s Republic and the political trans-formation, to the contemporary model of police operation. The changes in the neighbourhood police officer have been demonstrated to be gradual and uneven. Despite significant normative changes over the course of a century, elements derived from earlier modes of operation have persisted. The historical and institutional analysis employed has allowed us to conclude that, in the role of the local police officer, the partnership model formally predominates, although in practice it is constrained by bureaucratic and organizational factors. This affects the actual nature of relations between police and citizens and poses a challenge to current local security systems. In particular, these limitations stem from the neighbour-hood police officer being overburdened with a wide range of tasks that often go beyond their core role, the officer’s limited operational autonomy, and the tension between the expectations of the institution they represent and the needs of the local community.