IPA stands for International Police Association which was founded January 1, 1950 by the British Police Sergeant Sir Arthur Troop. It is neutral politically, economically, and religiously. Belonging to the IPA undertakes to comply with the Declaration of Human Rights, which was set in 1948. The seat of the association is Switzerland, and its supreme authority is the World Congress, held every four years. The Association has its own information and training centre located in Gimborn near Cologne, Germany.
In 1992 during the 24th IPA conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on the recommendation of police officers from the French and Danish Section of the IPA, the Polish Section became a full member of this organization. In this way, more than two years of efforts and procedures for legal recognition in the country, as well as the introduction to the international arena were culminated. It was also evidence that the international police community, accepted principles of organization and operation of the Polish Police, respecting the canons of the democratic state.
Statute of the Polish Section of the IPA provides that its members can be persons performing service in the Police and Border Guard, as well as pensioners of these formations. Membership in the Association is voluntary, and each member is required to actively participate in the implementation of statutory IPA objectives.
The motto of the association, as was mentioned and reminded above, is expressed in the Esperanto language “Servo Per Amikeco” (service through friendship). Polish Section of the IPA pursues this goal through a variety of activities and initiatives.