The Polish context: Examining issues of police reform, drug use and drug trafficking in a transitioning democracy

Abstract

Purpose

The dynamics of drug use and trafficking in Poland have changed dramatically since the early 1990s. These changes include legal definitions of drug use, the actors involved in trafficking, and the types of drugs traversing the country. The Polish police force experienced two significant reforms in the 1990s and drug‐related legislation underwent significant reconstruction in 1997 and 2000, while drug trafficking operations continue to persist by organized criminal groups. The purpose of this study is to qualitatively investigate these police reforms and drug legislation developments since 1990, and empirically analyze the interaction effects of these reforms with drug trafficking arrests in Poland.

Design/methodology/approach

Officially reported annual data were tested using multivariate regression analyses.

Findings

The findings observed from this exploratory study suggest that both the police reforms and changes in drug‐related legislation positively affected the number of arrests for drug trafficking. Additionally, this study found support for an increase in efficiency of the policing model despite the recent decline in the strength of the police force. Interestingly, the number of police officers in the country had no effect on any of the variables.

Research limitations/implications

Quantitatively, the small number of observations poses limitations on the interpretation of the multivariate regression results. In addition, future research should include additional explanatory variables to achieve a greater comprehensive summary of the interaction effects of policing reforms and drug‐related legislation with drug trafficking arrests.

Practical implications

This paper illustrates the need for accurate and timely national‐level, systematically collected data on drug‐ and police‐related indicators that will allow for more inclusive and comprehensive analyses.

Originality/value

This study is one of the first to empirically examine potential interaction effects of police reform and drug‐related legislation on drug trafficking arrests in Poland.

Citation

Summers, D.L. and Pływaczewski, E.W. (2012), "The Polish context: Examining issues of police reform, drug use and drug trafficking in a transitioning democracy", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 35 No. 2, pp. 231-252. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639511211229996