Contribution of the Police Academy in Szczytno to Counter-terrorist Activities

One of the state entities which have the task of preventing and combating terrorism is the Police, while the Police Academy in Szczytno is their intellectual base. It is not only an organisational unit of the Police, but also a higher education institution with legal personality. This status entitles it to teach at different levels of civilian higher education, as well as conduct in-service training for police officers. Education in the area of terrorist threats and counteracting them is aimed, on the one hand, at making the students aware of the scale of such threats and their accurate identification, as well as the ways of responding to them by the state and its institutions, and, on the other hand, at learning specific reflexes that will allow anyone who finds themselves in an area threatened by a terrorist attack to quickly assess the resulting threat and to react immediately. The goals set in this way are reflected in the employment structure of the academy, which includes specialist organisational units, and among the scientific and teaching staff are experts, including practitioners, who in the past carried out the tasks of the state at different levels of the system for counteracting terrorist threats. They systematically participate in scientific undertakings, including research projects, scientific conferences and publication work, participate in the work of expert teams, both national and international, and cooperate extensively with external entities. The result of their multidimensional activities is shaping and deepening social awareness of terrorist threats and desired attitudes towards them, as well as appropriate preparation of police officers, but also other services, to safely perform tasks related to the elimination of terrorist threats.