Police in the System of Law Enforcement Agencies of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35774/Keywords:
Western Ukrainian People’s Republic, State Secretariat, law enforcement agencies, police, state gendarmerieAbstract
The purpose of this article is to analyze the process of formation, organizational development, place, and role of the police within the system of law enforcement agencies of the Western Ukrainian People’s Republic (WUPR) during the period from November 1918 to June 1919. The research methodology is based on the principles of historicism, scientificness, objectivity, and systemic analysis. The methods of analysis, synthesis, and generalization applied in the study made it possible to investigate the processes of formation, the regional specificities of activity, and the significance of the police as a structural component within the system of social order protection of the WUPR. The historical-comparative method facilitated a comparative analysis of the establishment of the WUPR police with the legislative regulation of police activity in the “first” Ukrainian People’s Republic, as well as with the processes of law enforcement development in Austria-Hungary. Scientific novelty. Based on published sources and recent historiographic research, the article examines the processes of the establishment, functioning, and role of the police in the system of law enforcement bodies of the WUPR in the period from November 1918 to June 1919. Research findings indicate, firstly, that the process of establishing and developing law enforcement bodies was deliberate, systematic, and carried out in parallel with the development of the state administration system and judicial reform of the WUPR. Secondly, document analysis shows the absence of legislative regulation of police activity, in contrast to the state gendarmerie, which significantly influenced the processes of its formation, organizational development, and systemic effectiveness. Thirdly, despite the diversity of approaches regarding its designation and the regional specificities of its formation, the police should be regarded as a public body which, alongside the gendarmerie, was entrusted with ensuring the protection of public order.
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