Forms of and the fight against organised crime in Poland before 1990

The phenomenon of organised crime in Poland is not, contrary to frequently expressed views, characteristic only of the situation that arose after 1990. Considering historical sources, one can refer to well-organised groups of criminals who committed crimes in medieval Poland. Criminal associations characterised by a certain hierarchy and structure threatened the safety of travellers, carried out attacks on villages and were a threat to urban residents. During the partitions, organised criminal structures occurred mainly in the Russian and Austrian partition. In judicial chronicles, there were perpetrators creating bandit groups and strong structures of pickpockets as well as those dealing with various types of economic fraud and extortion. The problem of organised crime intensified after regaining independence in 1918. The inconsistency of the legal system and weak institutions of public order protection created great opportunities for both criminal offences and economic crimes. From the 1920s, large expenditures on the development of modern economic areas (Gdynia, the Central Industrial District) became a temptation for well-organised groups to take advantage of the situation for their own benefit. Within the structures of law protection institutions, no specialised unit for fighting criminal groups was created until 1939. Central and local cells of the investigative service mainly dealt with organised gangs. After the Second World War, the shaping of the criminal environment was first influenced by huge groups of inhabitants displaced from the former Polish eastern borderlands, the general expansion caused by military operations, and ineffective law enforcement agencies. Thus, initially, the most powerful organised groups were those of criminal character. The separation of the Polish economy from open markets and economic imbalance caused the emergence of various organised crime gangs committing economic crimes ranging from smuggling and illegal trade in foreign exchange to large criminal groups at the interface between the socialised and private economy. Within the militia, which was responsible for combatting criminal offences until 1990, no units specialised in the fight against organised crime did not come into their own. As part of their competence, the criminal investigation department, in particular, the fraud squad and investigative service, dealt with organised crime.