The allowance will range from PLN 900 to PLN 1,800 (USD 230-460), depending on the officer’s place of service, Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press conference at Police Headquarters in Warsaw alongside Interior Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, Tusk said the measure aims to bring housing benefits for uniformed officers in line with those already available to professional soldiers.
At the moment, Poland’s Ministry of the Interior and Administration offers smaller, fragmented housing subsidies. These will be replaced by a standardized monthly housing benefit modeled on the system used in the Polish armed forces.
The new allowance will be tax-free.
Tusk told reporters that the policy, developed in consultation with police officers and trade unions, is expected to significantly improve the financial situation of law enforcement personnel.
He said the government hopes the new benefit will encourage more people to join the police force, helping to maintain a positive balance between new recruits and those leaving the service.
His interior minister declared that the legislation to implement the housing allowance will be introduced swiftly.
“We are getting to work immediately to ensure that the first payments reach officers in July,” Siemoniak said.
Tusk also announced plans to continue a major police modernization program.
“The new threats we face require new tools to combat them,” the prime minister said, adding that investment would also be needed in police training, equipment and station upgrades.
Addressing the work of law enforcement personnel, Tusk stressed that those who risk their lives to protect the public must receive widespread respect, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
“People who save lives and provide assistance—who are on duty 24/7 and always ready to act—must be unconditionally respected by everyone,” he said.
In an earlier interview with the PAP news agency, Deputy Interior Minister Czesław Mroczek indicated that the amount of the new housing allowance would be linked to local housing costs.
These have been increasing steeply, in particular in the country's major cities.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, TVP Info