Does Poland need civil defence? [part 1]

In case of a natural disaster the Polish civil defence would not be able to efficiently help in eliminating its effects. During the war it would protect neither the public nor the critical facilities. Its warehouses are full of used gas masks and radiation indicators dating back to the seventies. ”Today most of us perceive the civil defence as a relic of the past, mocked because of the old equipment, ill-fitted gas masks and bunkers for notables” - says Marek Bieńkowski, Director of Public Order and Internal Security Department at NIK. ”And Poland needs a modern and efficient civil defence system that will help our country meet its constitutional obligations towards citizens”.

Interview with Marek Bieńkowski on the civil defence in Poland

Civil defence 1

Bieńkowski mentions that by signing a Schedule to the Geneva Convention, Poland committed itself to creating specialised forms of the civilians’ protection. This is not necessarily about establishing new services. "All we would have to do is organise the existing services and institutions so that they make up an efficient system. Our audit has shown that currently there is no such system in Poland.”

For many years civil defence has existed only on paper. Additionally, in quite a fictional way. "We've discovered some cases where reports related to civil defence did not reflect the reality. E.g. they provided information on some non-existing structures or training programmes that had never been conducted. The system included names of entrepreneurs that had been inactive on the Polish market for many years” - enumerates Bieńkowski.

A civil defence system operating in that way has no reason for being. Should it be eliminated then? Or maybe modernised? Adjusted to modern requirements and threats? The former Chief Commander of the Police says there is no point in reinventing the wheel. And he mentions the Spanish model as an example of a well-functioning civil defence system. ”Spain has worked intensely to create a modern system of protecting citizens after terrorist attacks in Madrid. Only after those tragedies people started to realise that such a system was needed. We learn from the mistakes of others.”

See part 2 of the interview on the civil defence in Poland >>