Rola i zadania organów Policji Państwowej na ziemiach północno-wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej (1920-1939)

Abstract

After the Soviet army was defeated in the summer of 1920, police forces started to be organized in northeastern Poland. The process was initiated by the order of Commander in Chief of 9 Septernber 1920, which stated that the police unit of frontline territories in Konstancin ("Komenda Policji Terenów Przyfrontowych i Etapowych") should be formed under the auspices of the central unit of state police ("Komenda Główna Policji Państwowej") . The informal supervision of the central police unit over the police of frontline territories emphasized its temporary status, as well as initiated the process of incorporating the unit into the state police. The process of unification of police forces began at the turn of 1921 . The regulation of 13 December issued by the Minister of Internal Affairs extended the application of the law on the state police of 24 July 1919 to the districts of Nowogród and Polesie. The document stated that two regional police units were to be established: one in Nowogród and one in Polesie. The last police unit to be created in northeastern Poland was the one in Vilnius, which was established on 12 July 1922. The delay resulted from the fact that Central Lithuania ceased to exist as a separate administrative region. The objective of the state police was to ensure safety, peace and stability in the society. That meant the prevention of both political and criminal offences. In reality, the two were often difficult to distinguish from each other because saboteurs, who wanted to destabilize the political situation, frequently resorted to robbing trains or farms. In the years 1920-1926 there were special police forces that dealt with political crimes: Department IV D ( "Wydział IV D" ) , Information Service ("Służba Informacyjna"), Political Police ("Policja Polityczna") . After the coup d'etat in May, the responsibilities regarding the prevention and detection of political and criminal offences were ceded to investigating officers who worked in cooperation with the police.