SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY PUBLISHING HOUSE SCIENTIFIC PAPERS OF SILESIAN UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY 2019 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT SERIES NO. 139 1 THE ROLE OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT IN THE FUNCTIONING 2 OF BORDER REGIONS 3 Marie GABRYŠOVÁ1, Wiesław CIECHOMSKI2* 4 1 Marie Gabryšová, Hornoslezská vysoká škola obchodni, Zahraniční fakulta v Ostravě (Katowice School of 5 Economics, Ostrava branch); [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-7273-4762 6 2 Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Poznaniu; [email protected], ORCID: 0000-0002-2310-8378 7 * Correspondence author 8 Abstract: The paper is devoted to the importance of crisis management in improving the safety 9 and security of border areas residents and the development of border regions. The authors first 10 present the essence and stages of the crisis management process, and then describe several 11 programmes implemented jointly by the Police, Fire Brigade, Border Guard and other 12 uniformed services. These include such joint Polish-Czech projects as “Safe Borderlands”, 13 cross-border cooperation between the Fire Brigade and the Police, combating drug crime and 14 cybercrime, as well as the “Joint Facility in Chotěbuz”. The article contains fragments of three 15 in-depth individual interviews conducted personally with the commander of the District Police 16 Headquarters in Cieszyn, the deputy director and an employee of Hasíčský záchranný sbor 17 Moravskoslezského kraje, and the head of the Chotěbuz centre. 18 Keywords: crisis management, border region. 19 1. Introduction 20 The aim of this paper is to present selected aspects of partner cooperation between services 21 responsible for crisis management in the border regions of Poland and the Czech Republic. 22 The cooperation of uniformed services should not be considered solely in the context of dealing 23 with the consequences of natural disasters or combating organised international crime. It must 24 be planned in advance and systematically practised. In other words, it cannot only be ex post 25 facto cooperation. Such cooperation is all the more important in the case of border regions in 26 view of different legal regulations and communication systems in each country, as well as the 27 language barrier which may appear when communicating with people who need help from the 28 emergency services. 29 http://dx.doi.org/10.29119/1641-3466.2019.139.9 https://www.polsl.pl/Wydzialy/ROZ/Strony/Zeszytynaukowe.aspx 124 M. Gabryšová, W. Ciechomski 1 Excellent examples of strengthening this cooperation are joint Polish-Czech projects which 2 aim to improve the safety and security of residents and tourists in border regions. The article 3 describes five such programmes: “Safe Borderlands”, cross-border cooperation between the 4 Fire Brigade and the Police, combating drug crime, combating cybercrime, and the creation of 5 the “Joint Facility in Chotěbuz”. The paper is based not only on the study of the literature, 6 but also on the results of direct in-depth interviews conducted with four Polish and Czech 7 officers responsible for implementing these programmes and improving the cooperation 8 between Polish-Czech crisis management services. 9 2. The essence and stages of the crisis management process 10 The crisis management process consists of four stages: prevention, preparation, response and 11 reconstruction. Prevention is understood as a set of activities that aim to eliminate or reduce the 12 likelihood of a given threat and limit its adverse effects. This should be a continuous process, 13 and any mistakes made at this stage may have a destructive impact on the entire crisis 14 management cycle. 15 The preparation phase comprises such elements as forecasting the effects of potential threats; 16 planning how to react; as well as actions aimed at gathering the manpower and resources 17 necessary to effectively respond to a crisis situation. Another very important element of the 18 preparation stage is the organisation of training exercises aimed at checking the preparation of 19 the entities involved in the crisis management process, such as the Police, the Border Guard, 20 the State Fire Service, medical services and others. The main tasks of these services in the 21 response phase include implementing appropriate procedures, organising medical assistance, 22 securing endangered areas and evacuating people who are in danger. Incorrect organisation of 23 the prevention and preparation phases leads to the accumulation of adverse phenomena which 24 may appear in the response phase and which, in extreme situations, may make it impossible to 25 implement coordinated actions. 26 The reconstruction phase consists of a set of measures aimed at restoring the pre-crisis 27 situation in the shortest possible time, or even improving it, in the light of the experience gained, 28 in order to prevent a recurrence of the crisis. This process includes, among others, estimating 29 damage and loss, restoring and replenishing resources, restoring operational readiness, as well 30 as modifying crisis management plans and procedures. 31 Threats caused by natural forces that result in crisis situations include floods, snowstorms, 32 thunderstorms, hurricanes, epidemics, fires and more (Wiśniewski, Kaczmarczyk, 2012b, 33 p. 110). These very dangerous phenomena, such as the African swine fever epidemic (ASF), 34 often occur simultaneously in two or more countries and can be effectively controlled only if 35 the cooperation of services between these countries is real and not only declared. Therefore, the The role of crisis management... 125 1 issue of crisis management requires clarifying the principles of cooperation and defining the 2 limits of each partner’s autonomy. This applies to each of the crisis management phases and to 3 all the links in the system in relation to specific threats (Gołębiewski, 2015b, p. 7). 4 A very important attribute of the crisis management system is a rational coordination of 5 actions in emergencies (Gołębiewski, 2015a, p. 40). This issue is all the more important when 6 it concerns the cooperation of services from different countries, for example with regard to 7 flood risks or forest fires. Nature does not know and does not respect national borders, and 8 effective flood prevention in large areas of, for example, Lower Silesia, requires efficient 9 cooperation between Polish, Czech and German services. The organisation and functioning of 10 local flood warning systems, for example, is based on the implementation of an integrated 11 system, also referred to as a total system, which includes not only activities ensuring a correct 12 response in emergency situations, but also the integration of national and local actions, 13 including the border regions. The system of international crisis management is primarily a set 14 of warning, information and education measures aimed at creating a climate of cooperation 15 (Wiśniewski, Kaczmarczyk, 2012b, p. 28 et seq.). 16 It is also worth noting one more issue related to international crisis management. One of the 17 important consequences of the rapid integration of states is the need for being able to efficiently 18 deal with crisis situations (Molendowski, 2012, p. 29 et seq.). The implementation of the 19 European Union’s regional policy necessitates the creation of certain administrative capabilities 20 with regard to managing programmes and projects, including infrastructure projects connected 21 with crisis management (Życki, 2010, p. 86). In addition to internal security, the priorities of 22 the EU’s regional policy include the restructuring and modernisation of rural areas, 23 the development of human resources, and an increase in the competitiveness of enterprises in 24 the food sector, among others (Sługocki, 2013, p. 187). 25 The majority of the specialist literature on integration processes is devoted to the absorption 26 of financial resources from EU funds, placing particular emphasis on the vision and strategies 27 for the development of border regions. Unfortunately, the issues of crisis management and the 28 cooperation of uniformed services are not given a lot of attention in these documents even 29 though ensuring the cohesion of activities in this respect is of the utmost importance (Sługocki, 30 2016, p. 187 et seq.). The multifaceted nature of international cooperation and its impact on the 31 development of regions, including border regions, are discussed in more detail by Kowalewska- 32 Borys and Chomicz (2015, p. 13 et seq.). 33 Analysing the fundamental objectives and determinants of international cooperation, 34 it is also worth emphasising that while excessive diversity can be intriguing or even irritating, 35 overcoming barriers between countries and societies can be quite fascinating (Gabryšová, 36 Ciechomski, 2018, p. 101). A great achievement of contemporary Western European 37 civilization is that national borders are no longer a reason for division or isolation. Currently, 38 the international relations of the countries that make up the European Union tend to focus more 39 strongly on what connects rather than what divides. Building a modern Europe is a process of 126 M. Gabryšová, W. Ciechomski 1 discovering and appreciating its differences and the richness of its cultures (Gołoś, Kasińska- 2 Metryka, 2011, p. 87). With such an understanding in the philosophy of the co-existence of 3 states and nations, creating and implementing crisis management systems in border regions 4 proves much easier. 5 Furthermore, the European Community is making intensive efforts to strengthen the 6 economy and social fabric of peripheral areas, including border areas, which are often at risk 7 of marginalisation. This also involves building friendly mutual relations based on partnership, 8 which are the basis of the philosophy and strategy of relationship marketing (Rudolf, 2016, 9 p. 78 et seq.). Development opportunities in these areas are equalised, among others, with the 10 help of the structural funds, which also serve to finance the strengthening of safety and security 11 in border areas. Fire-fighting units operating in the Polish-Czech border area took advantage of 12 this opportunity.