The thin blue line
The European Union (EU) acknowledged in its annual assessment last week that Poland is making good progress in its preparations for EU membership and is no longer the laggard among candidate countries. Sounds pretty good at first blush, especially considering that the negotiating "chapter" on Poland's environment was completed a couple of weeks ago and the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD)-led cabinet, unlike the previous government, is adamant it will make concessions in some key negotiating areas soon.
But the nuts and bolts of getting Poland into the EU are far more complicated, expensive and painful than the simple crossing off of completed negotiation chapters. Take the weighty problem of the country's prisons. In its report, the EU says that conditions in Polish prisons have, if anything, deteriorated during the past year. While the number of prisoners has increased, budgetary resources have been reduced by 14% compared to last year.
How bad are things getting? Warsaw's jails are so strapped for space that some newly convicted criminals are being sent home for as long as six months until a cell bed becomes available. Then there's the problem of finding these waitlisted criminals once their number comes up. According to the Punishment Execution Code, each prisoner is required to have three square meters of space, but the reality is that several are lumped into an area that size. Last year, the ombudsman's office put it rather mildly when it warned of the possibility for violent disturbances.
As for the police, conditions are equally appalling. In a report presented recently to Antoni Kowalczyk, Poland's national chief of police, the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights said half the 168 police stations it investigated did not have a detention room. As a result, prisoners are being handcuffed to wherever there's a place to stand: the front lobby, radiators, corridor railings. Meanwhile, fingerprinting is being done in toilets and hallways. The foundation also discovered that staggering numbers of police departments are closed in the afternoons, telephones don't work and many still don't have computers.
More alarming, though, is the state of law enforcement recruitment. With wages starting at less than zł. 1,000 a month, with only minor raises after years on the job, it's no wonder that corruption is rife and those who do join the force may not be among Poland's best and brightest. And why try too hard anyway when you're liable for the squad car you're driving?
Remember the case last winter when a police officer mistakenly shot and killed a veterinarian giving an injection to a tiger that escaped from Warsaw's zoo. The incident, unfortunately, sparked a fresh round of international Polish jokes. But the real problem is that the police department doesn't have enough cash to train its officers to hit their targets.
The list goes on. As Poland inches closer to aligning itself with the laws and conventions of the EU, the amount of money needed for law enforcement alone is scandalously low - even in relation to the sorry state of public finances. All the more reason for the government to push for fast-growth policies - now.
