Coordination of Local Action for Security

The National Polish Conference "Safe County - Challenges for Local Communities" took place in Krakow on the 14-15 of May 2012. The conference was organised by a research team of academics and doctoral students form the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Law and Administration. The conference was part of the "Coordination of Local Efforts for Safety, with Particular Focus on Crime Prevention" research project.  The conference was covered by the honourable patronage of the President of the City of Krakow professor Jacek Majchrowski and the Polish County Association.

Among the guests of the conference were mainly representatives of the local government, counties, towns, city guards and police units from across Poland, as well as representatives of the academic community. The meeting was also attended by Commissioner Violetta Przybysz of Criminal Prevention Office of the Police Department, Polish National Representative for the European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) - Juliusz Gałkowski from the Ministry of the Interior, and Ludwik Węgrzyn – expert representing the Polish County Association.

Participants were greeted by the Secretary of the City of Krakow Mr Paweł Stańczyk, who appeared in place of the President. Afterword, professor Janina Czapska, the research project coordinator, briefly introduced the guests to the subject matter.

Professor Tadeusz Czarnecki, Director of the Criminology, Forensics and Victimology Department at the University of Opole Faculty of Law and Administration was the first speaker, presenting his paper on The Disfunction of Crime and Anti-Social Behaviours Prevention System. Following professor Czarnecki was Professor Mirosław Stec, head of the Department of the Territorial Government Law, and senior lecturer at the Department of Business Law of The Jagiellonian University, who, in his speech, presented the principles of fusion in public administration. Next speech – The Diagnosis of the Threat of Criminal Phenomenon – was delivered by Professor Janina Błachut of the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Law and Administration.

At the end of the plenary session the participants left the City of Krakow Office chambers, and proceeded to the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Law chambers, where everyone had an opportunity to enrich their knowledge and improve their practical skills by participating in various workshops. Participants could listen to Inspector Andrzej Urban PhD and Deputy inspector Krzysztof Łojek PhD from the Police Academy in Szczytno talking about the local strategies of crime prevention; take part in a presentation by Jarosław Dobkowski PhD from the Warminsko-Mazurski University Department of Administrative Law and Administration Studies concerning the basic principles of cooperation between the police and the local government; and attend a workshop by Barbara Worek PhD of the Jagiellonian University Institute of Sociology who presented in detail the ways of utilizing the evaluation tools for judging the effectiveness of safety efforts.

The second day begun with new workshops held at the City of Krakow Office chambers. At the workshop chaired by Janusz Liber MA (safety specialist) and Jakub Mączka MA (solicitor) participants had the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the use of new technologies for providing safety in the county. The second workshop entitled If not a program, than what? Standard-setting and Organisational Ability to Influence the Local Safety was chaired by Professor Paweł Chmielnicki, head of the Department of the Theory of Law at the Information Technology and Management College in Rzeszów and Marek Mączyński PhD of the Department of Local Government Law at the Jagiellonian University.

Next was a plenary session, during which the first results of the "Coordination of Local Efforts for Safety, with Particular Focus on Crime Prevention" research project were presented.

The first speaker was a member of the research team Katarzyna Jurzak-Mączka MA, a doctoral student of the Department of the Sociology of Law, at the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Law and Administration. Mrs Mączka presented the results of an analysis of the county crime prevention and public safety and order programs mandated in the counties. Following her was Michalina Szafrańska MA, also a member of the research team and a doctoral student of the Department of the Sociology of Law, at the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Law and Administration. Ms Szafrańska gave a detailed presentation on the results of the analysis of the county safety and order commissions' activity reports (2007-2009).

The plenary session concluded with a lively discussion regarding the presented results. All participants agreed that the issue of effective safety provision in the county is very important and should be investigated further. Mr Janusz Gałkowski, the representative of EUCPN was particularly enthusiastic about the work done within the projects' framework. Mr Gałkowski expressed hope that further actions taken by the research team, such as an international conference, will become an integral part of the EUCPN event calendar. The conference created a level playing field for exchanging experiences and ideas between local governments, safety and security services and academics. Participants not only discussed the current issues, but also engaged in reflexion on the future of the county safety and order commissions and new ways of improving the safety level in the counties.