The exact role of the gendarmerie has been historically difficult to ascertain, with several changes and developments since the fall of communism. Prior to the abandonment of conscription in 2009, the ZW was primarily concerned with the conscription efforts of the Polish Armed Forces and chasing down avoiders, however the unit returned to traditional military policing after this with a confusing hiatus of their public role and deployment for 10 years with ad-hoc deployment at the government's will. Since coronavirus however, ZW has taken an increasingly public role in society, with officers being a daily sight for most urban citizens.
In further confusion, in 2021 the Gendarmerie was demoted from a full service branch of the Polish Armed Forces, instead being classified as an "other" unit, alongside the Inspectorate of Armed Forces Support (logistics unit), the Warsaw Garrison (various representational and ceremonial duties in the capital), as well as the Operational Command and General Staff which are the main decisional organs in the chain of command. As of 2022, the unit also has a Criminal Directorate acting as an intelligence gathering unit for cybersecurity purposes.
The modern Polish Military Gendarmerie was formed on 1 September 1990 on the basis of order No. Pf-42 / Org. Minister of National Defense of 18 April 1990 and order No. 062 / Org. Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Army of 15 June 1990. At this formation the structure was as follows:
In August 2001, Sejm (lower house of parliament of Poland) passed Act on the Military Gendarmerie and other law enforcement authorities which specify tasks and authorities of the Military Gendarmerie.[1]
In 2007, the Military Gendarmerie was granted partner status to the European Gendarmerie Force, and since 2015 become a full member.[2]
Role in civilian policing
In October 2020, the Military Gendarmerie were ordered to help the civilian police in the "protection of safety and public order", starting from 28 October 2020. The order was given in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.[3] Since the beginning of the pandemic, the ZW has taken an increasingly public and pervasive role in the policing of society, often supplementing or fully overtaking the traditional roles of the national Police force.
Among other notable role changes and developments in the last two years, the ZW has overtaken all duties on patrolling the highways and national roads to inspect the goods of large trucks and their roadworthiness, and for the first time arrest powers were extended to the ZW when dealing with truck drivers who carry unregistered arms, drugs or illegal immigrants which fall out of the jurisdiction zones of the border force.[4]
In urban areas, local ZW units have been signposted to augment the local police in carrying out pedestrianised patrols and fining drivers who do not follow pedestrian-priority road laws.[5] It also appears that ZW has begun to augment the police and fire services in search operations – ZW equipment and personnel have begun to be deployed to search for missing persons. In the past, ZW units have been regularly deployed for this purpose to search for deserters and conscription-avoiders and much experience remains in this area. [6]
Most visibly to the public eye however is the expansion of use of ZW units in protection of public events and gatherings. ZW units have been increasingly regularly deployed to supplement or overtake the roles of the national police in overseeing public events, gatherings and sports events. Notably however, they have been excluded from protests (from which they are constitutionally banned) and VIP/government protection (unlike other Gendarmerie forces in Spain and France, however, in Poland this role is undertaken by the SOP).
Soldiers of the Military Police died during their official duties:
Starszy kapral Krzysztof Sypień from the Military Gendarmerie Department in Kraków, † 11 VIII 2002 Kraków, posthumously promoted to platoon-leader.
Starszy szeregowy Grzegorz Bukowski from the Special Branch of the Military Police in Mińsk Mazowiecki, † 15 June 2010 Afghanistan, posthumously promoted to the rank of Corporal.
Starszy szeregowy Marcin Pastusiak from the Special Branch of the Military Police in Mińsk Mazowiecki, † 22 January 2011 Afghanistan, posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
Starszy szeregowy Tomasz Janowski from the Special Branch of the Military Police in Gdynia, † 29 March 2016 Iraq, posthumously promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
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