There are some 10,000, including traffic and investigation services.

And how many city patrol guards?

About 1,200.

Is this number sufficient for Warsaw?

In my view, a lot can be done with these services, provided they're efficiently used. The problem with Warsaw's police is not insufficient numbers, but excessive turnover: the conditions offered to young people admitted into the service are not conducive to starting a family, buying an apartment, and so on.

The city builds some apartments for police officers.

Yes, it does. In a few weeks a development designed for police officers, financed from the local government budget, will be completed. Within a few buildings, 1,000 apartments are almost ready for use, including hotel rooms.

What would change if the Warsaw police were controlled by the mayor, as in American cities?

Much like Mayor Lech Kaczyński, I believe that there's no need to establish a city police force. The present position of the police within state administration structures, much as it is in France, should not be changed. So we don't need administrative changes designed to make the police subordinate to city administration. But we do hope for good cooperation and we realize that peace and order in the city, as well as residents' sense of security, depend heavily on good cooperation between city administration and the police and between the police and the city patrol force.

But the mayor of Warsaw can hardly influence the efficiency of Warsaw's police.

Not as a superior. But under the present regulations, the work and efficiency of Warsaw's police are evaluated by the local government. We don't have any influence either upon the pay of individual police officers or the budget for the Warsaw police. But under the law, we can subsidize additional services. Under the relevant regulations, this year we will allocate over zl.3 million from the city budget to finance additional patrols in the city's most dangerous areas.

Most dangerous according to the police or residents' judgment?

We have organized, jointly with the police, a comprehensive campaign, the Warsaw Safety Map, to verify information collected by the police against residents' feelings and opinions. The Warsaw press is participating in the campaign. We've also held over 100 meetings with residents of various districts and developments to learn where in the city residents feel most at risk. We plan to work on the collected information until the end of May and then send additional patrols to the regions regarded by Varsovians as particularly troublesome. As a result of signals received from residents, we have already established a network of 18 pilot spots under the particular care of the city patrol force. And this works.

What does "zero tolerance" mean under Warsaw conditions?

The efficiency of law enforcement services in a city can be ensured by fast and determined reaction by the police, the city patrol force and by other auxiliary services to every disturbance of public order, without ignoring even the slightest signs of vandalism or trouble-making. So far this view has not been very popular. There is another aspect to the issue: we are determined to develop prevention programs. In this respect, we hope for a positive attitude among district police and city patrol stations. There are around 500 district sheriff jobs in Warsaw. Jointly with the head of Warsaw's police, Ryszard Siewierski, we believe that, with little reorganization of their work, we have an opportunity for efficient local services in close contact with residents of developments and apartment buildings. Their tasks will include identification of problems faced by the local community regarding security and public order, penetration of crime-generating environments, and averting threats by identifying them. We want to prevent and react to even minor offenses. We believe that tolerance makes offenders act with impunity, leaving residents feeling insecure. The problem is that district sheriffs are hardly visible. Their presence so far has been too quiet.

The age of offenders in Poland has gone down; many are teenagers.

In its program, the present city administration puts emphasis on various forms of cooperation with Warsaw's youth and with schools. Sports programs for young Varsovians are being drawn up. My duty is to ensure the safe operation of all Warsaw schools in all districts of the city. Since the beginning of the year, we have established 50 school patrols and we want 150 of them from September. We wish to establish a specialized group of highly-trained police officers and city patrol guards who will patrol school areas. Each patrol will control its district and specific schools; it will be motorized but will also patrol schools and their surroundings on foot. They will be in contact with principals and teachers, and with parents if needed. We want them to establish good relations with the youth. Almost zl.5 million has been allocated from this year's city budget for school patrols. The funds will be spent on additional employment, training, equipment, cars, uniforms, mobiles, and so on.

School directors and teachers believe the first patrols at particularly troublesome schools, with cases of robbery and drug dealing, have proved extremely useful.

Last year 96 cameras were installed in Warsaw. Has the monitoring system proved effective?

The system covers the districts of the former Centrum borough. Preparations have started on installing monitoring systems in Ursynow and Wilanów districts. We plan dozens of cameras in various city districts. But the problem lies in identifying spots where cameras are most needed, then in connecting them to a monitoring system. We're working jointly with the police on changing the system. We want to employ additional people to release officers from this duty and use them for other assignments. Both the city administration and the head of the Warsaw Police agree that we need as many police officers as possible to patrol the city. We're also jointly working on motivation programs for the officers. The most efficient and appreciated district sheriffs will be rewarded. The Warsaw police headquarters has also suggested an intervention line for complaints about the work of police officers and city patrol guards

25 April 2003

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