Making the boys in blue look good
In the wake of Poland's political transition promoting a positive image of the police force was always going to be a tremendous challenge for any high-flying public relations guru. But on many levels the force itself appears to achieved just this, making the leap from the protectors of communists to guardians of the public, in little over a decade.
Public confidence
A major push for PR and the consequent rewards that increase public confidence in the police can bring in terms of crime-fighting began just before the turn of the millennium when the national police Press and Public Relations Bureau was launched.
At the same time senior officers began casting around foreign forces to learn from their experiences. Under the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth 'Know How Fund' a series of exchanges was initiated. One of these was a week-long course organized for about 40 officers from across the country that was run by a senior police press officer, Kim Perks, and a former BBC journalist.
Hello, hello
Mrs Perks said: "We looked at two main areas - showing how they could emphasize the positive aspects of police work by promoting good news stories and the reasons behind forming a good working relationship with the media.
One of the key problem areas was the thorny issue of corruption and how it should be treated. "It struck me that one issue the police in Poland needed to address in particular had to do with the country's history and the question of 'bent' police officers and corruption in the force," said Perks.
Having identified the evolving force's needs the team set about developing strategies and giving examples of their good practice.
Corrupt cops
"We wanted to show them that they had to be open with the media so that the media can trust them. I wanted to make them understand that if there was something the police didn't want to reveal to the media there has to be a good reason behind this and it is not that we just want to be secretive.
"It is vital that the media and public trust the police in order to help them do their job," she explains.
And have those lessons been learned?
The spokesman for the Chief Constable of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police force, Mariusz Sokołowski, said: "We are aware that the public find out their information about the police from the media and that the media can help to create a positive image of the police."
Words on the web
Indeed his force's website, for example, provides a clear mission statement in Polish, French, German and English, explaining: "We have implemented many activities aimed at changing the hitherto existing, not always positive image of the Police.
"More and more, we are trying to be a service, not just merely a restrictive force. We do realize that when acting alone, we will not be able to improve safety."
The respected Higher School of Policing, in Szczytno, now has dedicated courses to train press officers and voivodships across the country have set up their own press teams, which in turn support a network of press officers at the local level.
Team work
Sokołowski said: "There is no police force in the world that could exist without information from society. The more information a police force receives the more effective it can become.
"Now, this isn't snitching or ratting and must not be confused with some of the practices that occurred during communist times, this is providing police with information about criminal behavior that can be tackled for the benefit of society. And that provision of information can be improved through cooperation with the media."
So does the public trust its police? "The image of the police is constantly improving but there is still much room for improvement because growing public confidence is not something that is stable," Sokołowski explains.
"The police have done a lot in terms of PR to improve their image. This can be seen by how often it is held up as an example of a state institution that has successfully formed cooperative links with the media."
Public confidence
A major push for PR and the consequent rewards that increase public confidence in the police can bring in terms of crime-fighting began just before the turn of the millennium when the national police Press and Public Relations Bureau was launched.
At the same time senior officers began casting around foreign forces to learn from their experiences. Under the United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth 'Know How Fund' a series of exchanges was initiated. One of these was a week-long course organized for about 40 officers from across the country that was run by a senior police press officer, Kim Perks, and a former BBC journalist.
Hello, hello
Mrs Perks said: "We looked at two main areas - showing how they could emphasize the positive aspects of police work by promoting good news stories and the reasons behind forming a good working relationship with the media.
One of the key problem areas was the thorny issue of corruption and how it should be treated. "It struck me that one issue the police in Poland needed to address in particular had to do with the country's history and the question of 'bent' police officers and corruption in the force," said Perks.
Having identified the evolving force's needs the team set about developing strategies and giving examples of their good practice.
Corrupt cops
"We wanted to show them that they had to be open with the media so that the media can trust them. I wanted to make them understand that if there was something the police didn't want to reveal to the media there has to be a good reason behind this and it is not that we just want to be secretive.
"It is vital that the media and public trust the police in order to help them do their job," she explains.
And have those lessons been learned?
The spokesman for the Chief Constable of the Warsaw Metropolitan Police force, Mariusz Sokołowski, said: "We are aware that the public find out their information about the police from the media and that the media can help to create a positive image of the police."
Words on the web
Indeed his force's website, for example, provides a clear mission statement in Polish, French, German and English, explaining: "We have implemented many activities aimed at changing the hitherto existing, not always positive image of the Police.
"More and more, we are trying to be a service, not just merely a restrictive force. We do realize that when acting alone, we will not be able to improve safety."
The respected Higher School of Policing, in Szczytno, now has dedicated courses to train press officers and voivodships across the country have set up their own press teams, which in turn support a network of press officers at the local level.
Team work
Sokołowski said: "There is no police force in the world that could exist without information from society. The more information a police force receives the more effective it can become.
"Now, this isn't snitching or ratting and must not be confused with some of the practices that occurred during communist times, this is providing police with information about criminal behavior that can be tackled for the benefit of society. And that provision of information can be improved through cooperation with the media."
So does the public trust its police? "The image of the police is constantly improving but there is still much room for improvement because growing public confidence is not something that is stable," Sokołowski explains.
"The police have done a lot in terms of PR to improve their image. This can be seen by how often it is held up as an example of a state institution that has successfully formed cooperative links with the media."
