Policing in a Post-Socialist Society: The Case of Gdansk, Poland
| Author | Barbara Sypytkowska-Williams,Garth Lewis Crandon |
| Published date | 01 October 1996 |
| Date | 01 October 1996 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0032258X9606900410 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
GARTH LEWIS CRANDON, BA, M.Sc. (Econ.), Dip. Ed.
University
of
Glamorgan, Wales, UK
BARBARA SYPYTKOWSKA-WILLIAMS, M.Sc.
College
of
Tourism, Gdynia, Poland
POLICING IN A POST-SOCIALIST
SOCIETY: THE CASE OF
GDANSK,
POLAND
Introduction
It was the coming to power of Gorbachev in the Soviet Union, together
with the development of "perestroika" and "glasnost" which led to the
demise of the Communist Party in the Eastern Block. This demise
heralded new opportunities for the satellite States of the Soviet Union -
opportunities for political, social, economic and administrative changes
which could meet the demand of freedom and enterprise in a post-
socialist society.
Poland was amongst those States which grasped the opportunity to
take advantages of those changes in the political orthodoxy of the Soviet
Union. Paradoxically, Solidarity, and the orthodoxy of the church in
Poland with its rigid insistenceon the oldtraditions of Catholicism, gave
sustenance to Poland's radical movements against the orthodoxy of the
Communist Party. Poland had already developed atradition of resistance
to the Soviet yoke and this was no better expressed than in the shipyards
of Gdansk where Lech Walesa was seen as a folk hero. Gdansk became
a shining beacon of hope wherein the instruments of the new State could
match the aspirations of the new ideological order.
Amongst those residual institutions of the old political order which
were seen as oppressive instruments of the State were the police
authorities in Poland. And the police, in Gdansk in particular, had a remit
to enforce the law amongst a people with whom they had great empathy,
on behalf of a party which they did not necessarily trust (the Communist
Party).
Since those heady days of post-revolutionary fervour the police of
Gdansk have had to respond to changed political and economic climates
which pose new problems and need new methods of policing.
This article seeks to outline some of the problems which surround
the development of new forms of policing since 1990 in Gdansk, a city
which has a long history of independent spirit and unity of purpose. It
was made possible by a visit to the Gdansk police department by a group
of police officers and a lecturer in police studies from South Wales, UK.
The visit, which was conducted in spring 1995, was followed by
interviews of police in spring 1996.
Such brief research could not possibly result in an in-depth analysis
October 1996 The Police Journal 347
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