The prison system is managed by a centralised administration.

The different detention regimes are:

• the closed regime
• the semi-open regime
• the open regime

The average daily cost of detention for one prisoner is estimated at PLN 103 (25 USD). The annual cost of each inmate is $9,503 (PLN 37,200).

The different types of institutions are:

• remand centres, 46 in total
• prisons for convicted prisoners, 84 in total
• open prisons, 44 in total (oddziały zewnętrzne)
• juvenile correctional facilities

The detention regimes can be closed, semi-open, or open. The prison system includes 24 high-security units.
The semi-open and open prisons offer better conditions of detention with open institutions making up 32.5% of facilities.

The size of correctional facilities can vary significantly. The largest correctional facility is the remand centre of Warszawa-Białołęka, with a capacity of 1,537. The smallest is the remand centre of Dzialdowo, with a capacity of 102.

Some older buildings have been repurposed for prison use. For example, Koronowo Prison is located in a former fourteenth-century monastery, the pre-trial detention centre in Bialystok is located in a nineteenth-century military barracks and Nowy Wiśnicz Prison is in a seventeenth-century monastery.

Training for prison officers lasts two years.
The prerequisites to apply are:

• be over 18
• have a clean criminal record
• be of Polish nationality
• have a bachelor’s degree

The construction of a state police academy was part of the prison administration reform. This training centre will offer courses in secondary schools. The prison reform also provided for the training of prison officers who had already been recruited. They will undergo training in firearms, physical exercise, and new defence techniques.

The socio-educational staff must have Masters-level training. This group includes prison educators, educators for reintegration after release and an educator for cultural and educational activities.

Members of the socio-educational staff include:

• 1545 educators
• 53 lawyers
• 56 psychologists
• 48 sociologists¹

The prison staff does not have the right to go on strike.

A protest by law enforcement was organised on 2 October 2018 in Warsaw. Prison staff took part in it. The protest was considered the largest in the history of Polish government services. The protestors demanded an immediate improvement of their work conditions as well as wage increases.

The prison staff can be divided into three groups:

• those in direct contact with the inmates
• those occasionally in contact with the inmates
• those with no contact with the inmates

The first category includes the guards, who are responsible for providing security, order, and basic services in the residential units. This group also includes civilian personnel, such as educators, psychologists, doctors and teachers.

The second category includes the members of the management of the institution and other members of the administration. They are responsible for inspections and making sure the institutions run properly.

The third category includes the external security service, the finance and personnel management department, various employees such as drivers and maintenance workers, and part of the staff of the Central Board of the Prison Service.