It is a primary law enforcement agency in the country, tasked with providing public safety and order, investigating and preventing crime.

During the inter-war period, a number of key law enforcement duties were delegated to other formations, such as the Border Guard[5] and Military Gendarmerie.

[6] With the end of World War II and the onset of the communist period, the new Soviet backed government decided to radically change the structure of policing in Poland; the state 'Policja' was renamed as the 'Milicja Obywatelska' (Citizen's Militia), a name which was meant to reflect a change in the role of the police, from an instrument of oppression ensuring the position of the bourgeoisie, to a force composed of, and at the service of 'normal citizens'.

Ironically the reality turned out to be largely the opposite and the Milicja instead represented a rather state-controlled force which was used to exert political repression on the citizens.

The Milicja was, for the most part, detested by the general populace; events such as the police's conduct during the Gdańsk Shipyard Strike and surrounding the Popiełuszko affair, only worsened the people's view of their law enforcement agencies.

Beginning in 2009, the painting scheme is being modified to a silver body design with blue reflective strip, similar to modern German police cars.

Pepper spray is also commonly issued to officers in order to provide them with a non-lethal alternative weapon with which to incapacitate violent suspects.

Nowadays, holders of this office are considered to be successors to the commanders of the inter-war state police; commanding officers of the communist-era Milicja Obywatelska (Citizens' Militia) however, are not considered successors of the original cadre of Policja generals as they exercised authority over an organisation often utilised by the state as an instrument of political oppression.

[54] The commander's murder remains unsolved and is considered to be one of the most significant outstanding cases under active investigation by the Polish police.

In addition to these specific groups, all police forces retain a majority of officers for the purpose of patrol duty and general law enforcement.

On a regional level, voivodeship commands have control of smaller units called SPAP (Samodzielny Pododdział Kontrterrorystyczny Policji), Independent Counter-terrorism Policja Subunit), these units are responsible for, high-risk arrests, search warrant execution service, hostage rescue operations (only in alarm situations; BOA has priority in this task) and other similar tasks.

They also, train with servicemen from Służba Ochrony Państwa, Straż Graniczna, Agencja Bezpieczeństwa Wewnętrznego, Wojska Specjalne, and most recently with the U.S. Army and 10th CAB's premier special missions company, A/3-10 GSAB WarAngels.

To this end, Polish cooperation with the German, Czech, Slovakian and Lithuanian police services has reached an all-time high.

The Representative Honor Guard Company (Polish: Kompania reprezentacyjna Policja) is the ceremonial drill unit of the police.

From the beginning, the band improved rapidly, reaching a high artistic level, as reflected in the discretion of the judges at musical contests nationwide.

The band's musicians have on numerous occasions represented the Polish police outside the country, including concerts in Denmark, Belgium, Czech Republic, Belarus and Russia, yet they still value their well-kept tradition of playing performances for the ordinary residents of Warsaw.

Being the official representative band of the Policja, the group's musicians are often invited to play parade music for important events on national holidays such as the 3rd May Constitution Day.

[60] Much in the same way as other national police forces, the Policja is sometimes criticised for the methods it employs in maintaining law and order, such criticism is typically voiced by Polish youth.