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1. The six critical tasks of strategic leaders during crisis: Ensuring safety of stakeholders during COVID-19 pandemic in Poland

Author:
Zdzisław Polcikiewicz, Norbert Świętochowski, and Marek Tomaszycki
Publication Date:
03-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Nowa Polityka Wschodnia
Institution:
Faculty of Political Science and International Studies, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Abstract:
The authors’ purpose in this article is to present the way in which strategic leaders may use analytical tools to operate during crisis. Their actions is based on the idea of six main tasks, the so-called “Six Makings”, that they have to accomplish. The idea of “critical tasks during crisis was presented on the basis of the COVID-19 situation in Poland and the activities carried out by the Polish government and the Polish Health-care System (Strategic Leaders) to neutralize the negative effects of the pandemic, protect the health and lives of citizens, and care for the economic situation. Qualitative data analysis techniques were used in the research process. The authors concluded that in times of crisis, citizens rely on their leaders and believe that they will ensure their security and a swift return to customary. Strategic leaders must guarantee that the organizations and stakeholders they lead are prepared to counter the future challenges — foreseen and unforeseen alike. The “Six Makings” analytical tool, properly used, could significantly improve the accuracy of decisions made and increase the effectiveness of actions taken.
Topic:
Leadership, Crisis Management, Pandemic, COVID-19, Stakeholders, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

2. Citizens’ Perceptions on Public Safety and Threats to National Security in Kosovo

Author:
Dea Fetiu and Dorjeta Rukiqi
Publication Date:
02-2023
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
The following Western Balkans Security Barometer (WBSB) report provides a thorough analysis of respondents’ perception of potential threats to their public safety and national security in Kosovo in 2022. Respondents feel generally safe in their close communities. Nevertheless, the sense of safety gradually decreases as the communities grow larger. Around 77 percent of the respondents declared that they feel safe in their houses, while they feel the least safe in their country (around 33 percent). Respondents’ perceptions between 2021 and 2022 indicate a slow decrease in their feeling of public safety; whereby in the previous 2021 WBSB, 79 percent and 40 percent of respondents stated that they feel safe in their homes and in their country, respectively. On the other hand, almost half of the respondents feel safe on the cyberspace. Brain drain is ranked as the highest threat to public safety, with 83 percent of the respondents viewing it as a threat or high threat to their respective communities. Stray animals and drug abuse are also perceived as highly threatening phenomena. Moreover, respondents are generally concerned about shortages of necessities, however, they express the biggest concerns about the shortages of electricity. On the national level, respondents see the increased prices of goods as the highest threat towards Kosovo’s national security, followed closely by the energy crisis. Pollution and climate change, violent extremism, and COVID-19 are seen as the lowest threats to national security. When asked if COVID-19 continues to endanger public health, almost half of the respondents answered negatively. Further, COVID-19 was ranked as the lowest threat to Kosovo’s national security. Opinions are somewhat divided when it comes to the efficiency of the COVID-19 vaccine on hindering the pandemic; yet 45 percent of respondents believe that the vaccine contributed to curb the pandemic. According to the survey data, the main causes of domestic violence in Kosovo are poor economic conditions and low levels of education. Respondents believe that raising the quality of education, and organizing more raising awareness campaigns are some of the measures that need to be taken by institutions to prevent and fight domestic violence.
Topic:
National Security, Public Opinion, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

3. Sustainable Development of Trust and Police Presence in Schools: Implications for School Safety Policy

Author:
Bojan Jankovic, Vladimir M. Cvetkovic, Zvonimir Ivanovic, Aleksandar Ivanov, Svetlana Jovanovic, and Bozidar Otasevic
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The study aims to determine the trust and presence of police officers in schools in Serbia, as well as the perception of the principals and secretaries, teachers and staff, parents, and students on how successful the specific police units dedicated to schools were in fulfilling their tasks. The ex-post analysis was conducted through PEST/SWAT analysis, mapping the key actors and using batteries of online questionnaires, besides interviews with the MOI representatives, surveyed with personal interviewing, computer-aided surveying, desk analysis, and content analysis. The survey was conducted from September 2021 to June 2022. The research methods were implemented in 1140 schools in Serbia, and 8,617 people were included in surveys: police officers (308); principals and secretaries (1085); the team for protection against discrimination (982); teachers and staff (2988); parents (938) and students (2316). The relationships between the covariates and perception were investigated using the t-test, one-way ANOVA, multivariate linear regression, and binary regression. The results showed that a project of school police officers was not fully recognized as one of the strategically essential instruments for safe schools; trust is low, but presence is high. Besides that, the results suggest that the entire public believes that police are needed in schools and that it positively affects school safety. Regarding school safety policy, it is necessary to undertake three measures for the sustainable development of trust and the presence of police in school: regulatory, informative-educational, and institutional-organizational.
Topic:
Police, Trust, Schools, Public Safety, Perception, and Sustainable Development
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Serbia

4. Retos de la seguridad pública en España

Author:
Diego Torrente
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal on International Security Studies (RESI)
Institution:
International Security Studies Group (GESI) at the University of Granada
Abstract:
El presente número de la Revista de Estudios en Seguridad Internacional debate sobre los retos actuales de la seguridad pública en España. Lo hace desde el punto de vista de las amenazas, pero también de las instituciones y en particular de la Policía. Quizás la contribución principal del monográfico es que sus aportaciones, primero, miran al contexto europeo ofreciendo una perspectiva comparada y, segundo, se centran en algunos de los debates actuales importantes en la literatura policial y criminológica. Cada contribución la firman académicos reconocidos en su ámbito de saber. Se trata de una selección de seis artículos que parten de un retrato inicial sobre cómo es la cultura de la seguridad pública en Europa. Tras esta visión de fondo, siguen las contribuciones sobre los desafíos actuales que suponen tres tipos de delincuencia compleja: la criminalidad organizada de motivación económica, el terrorismo, y la ciberdelincuencia. Esas formas delictivas son determinantes en el futuro inmediato de la seguridad colectiva. El número culmina con dos aportaciones sobre las implicaciones que tienen éstos y otros retos para la legitimidad de la Policía y, sobre todo, la forma en que ésta responda a ellos. Finalmente, la última contribución analiza las implicaciones para la Policía desde la perspectiva de su responsabilidad social corporativa.
Topic:
Terrorism, Police, Organized Crime, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe and Spain

5. Perceptions of Public Safety and Trust in Security and Justice Institutions: Socio-Economic Influences in Serbia

Author:
Dušan Stanković
Publication Date:
07-2023
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP)
Abstract:
This analysis is based on the public opinion survey conducted in Serbia in 2022. The research objectives were to investigate citizens’ perceptions of public safety and trust in security and justice institutions in Serbia. Public safety perceptions were divided into questions on national safety and personal safety. The report is structured to present methodology and findings on the trust in security and justice institutions, and then perceptions of national and personal safety risks. The results are presented using graphic figures and text. The perceptions and demographical (socio-economic characteristics) differences are analyzed using a statistical test. Since the data of this study includes responses to the public opinion survey from October 2022, readers must consider the time gap between the public poll results and current public safety in Serbia.
Topic:
Security, Public Opinion, Institutions, Trust, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe and Serbia

6. Psychosocial Effects of the Pandemic. Stress and Sense of Safety Experienced by Poles During the COVID-19 Pandemic in 2020–2021

Author:
Robert Piec, Barbara Szykuła-Piec, Izabella Helena Grabowska-Lepczak, and Weronika Jakubczak
Publication Date:
12-2022
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Polish Political Science Yearbook
Institution:
Polish Political Science Association (PPSA)
Abstract:
The pandemic that broke out in 2019 had a significant impact on the lives of all social groups around the world. The imposed restrictions and mandatory quarantine were crucial to limit the virus’s spread. The research comprises an analysis of the psychosocial impact exerted by the pandemic that attempted to determine the response to the crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. For this purpose, a study on social resilience in the pandemic era was worked out. The study consisted of several parts: stress and the sense of safety, education, trust and defined needs and the mass media in COVID-19. The research team decided to present the study’s results in a series of articles that will contribute to forming a complete picture of the community in the context of the analysed variables. The paper is the first in this series. It contains an analysis of variables intended to determine the level of the experienced sense of safety and its constituent, i.e., stress, and the identification of socio-demographic data strongly influencing the studied variables. The study comprised 559 individuals who were surveyed between May 2020 and November 2020 with the use of an online survey questionnaire. SPSS Statistics version 21.0 and PQStat were used to conduct statistical analyses and correlate and assess the correlation of responses. Also used were Chisquare, Fisher’s test and Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient. A logistic regression analysis was carried out for dichotomous variables. The results of the study indicate that the level of experienced stress is influenced by age, place of residence, gender and job security. The sense of safety is inversely correlated with stress, i.e., as stress increases, the sense of safety decreases, indicating a need to undertake appropriate measures to reduce stress. It may be interesting to compare the level of stress with, among other things, information retrieval from different sources. These results will be presented in the subsequent studies.
Topic:
Psychology, Resilience, Community, COVID-19, Stress, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe and Poland

7. Illegal immigration as a threat to the safety of the Republic of Poland

Author:
Andrzej Soboń and Marzena Piertuniak
Publication Date:
03-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Security and Defence Quarterly
Institution:
War Studies University
Abstract:
Uncontrolled migration is one of the threats to the state, and as illegal immigration, it is a leading threat to international security. From the point of view of state security, illegal immigration is classified as “requiring caution.” In the case of Poland, illegal immigration is to a considerable extent handled by organised crime of transnational reach, effectively taking the form of criminal enterprises. In the present day, differentiating between migration and exile is intricate, because the reasons behind migration are unclear and depend on numerous factors, also related to migration policies in target countries. However, for criminal enterprises, which stop at nothing to maximise their business profits, both refugees seeking refuge and migrants seeking to improve their socio-economic situation are a source of substantial financial gain. Criminal organisations generate profit by committing various crimes. This article also looks at international and national institutions combating illegal migration as a threat to the security of the Republic of Poland and Europe.
Topic:
Borders, Human Trafficking, Public Safety, Illegal Immigration, and FRONTEX
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Poland

8. Kosovo Security Barometer Special Edition: Public Safety in Kosovo: Trends of Citizens’ Perceptions on Public Safety in Kosovo Covering period: 2012 – 2015

Author:
Sofije Kryeziu
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
It also measures the public perceptions on the internal and external security threats to Kosovo. The KSB is one of the largest and rather first initiatives designed, implemented, and communicated by a local think tank in Kosovo. KCSS has no political constraints in communicating the findings and messages. Lastly, the KSb is unique for its methodological approach, such as the unique tailoring of the quantitative and qualitative methods which aim to offer realistic results on public perceptions towards security related issues. This Special Edition targets a wide variety of actors interested in the public opinion trends in Kosovo in the field of public safety. It targets policy makers in Kosovo as well as the Western Balkans; the international organizations in Kosovo and their headquarters; local and international civil society organizations; academia and the media.
Topic:
Security, Public Opinion, and Public Safety
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans

9. What are the Implications of Pyrotechnics in Kosovo?

Author:
Sofije Kryeziu
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS)
Abstract:
The purpose of this policy brief is to provide an assessment about the risk of uncontrolled use of pyrotechnic means in Kosovo, suggesting taking the necessary measures towards reducing the eventual consequences which may be caused by this phenomenon. Certainly, this argument is based on the perspective of the security sector, as a result of the real implications on safety and public order and environmental security. Although the legal basis exists, state institutions have not created the basic conditions to prevent possible incidents. In this regard, there were not foreseen and undertaken awareness campaigns on the use of pyrotechnic means and it's side effects - for human health, property and the environment - plants (air and water pollution) and animals; there have not been taken the necessary measures for the qualification of the people who trade these tools, sales without permission were not prohibited, the consumers are not being protected.
Topic:
Security, Environment, Health, Public Safety, and Pyrotechnics
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Balkans