Competence Management and Image of Police Officers in Poland

Competence management is an issue that has become an area of particular interest not only for organisations from the business community, but also for public institutions, including institutions whose primary objective is to ensure security and public order. The group of such institutions includes, among others, the Polish Police. The level of competence available to officers, which is manifested through the prism of their behaviour, is at the same time the basis for the assessment of officers’ activities, which translates into their social image. The image of an organization and its employees influences the attitudes of the interested parties, including their approval manifested by support and understanding, or disapproval in the scope of the tasks performed. The quality of the image of police officers also affects the citizens’ sense of security. Bearing the above in mind, in the first part of the article, the process of managing the competences of police officers is presented as an action aimed at equipping officers with competences necessary for effective performance of official duties and fulfilling a servile role in relation to the society. In the second part of the article, the results of empirical research devoted to the issue of the image of police officers are presented.