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Surveillance was the clandestine observation of persons and places (in SB language –  ‘objects’) of Security Service interest. It was one of the measures of operational work, defined as “material sources of information” (besides operational techniques and “perlustration,” such as postal interception) – as opposed to “personal sources of information” (i.e., the agent network).

Surveillance was a task of Bureau “B” of the Committee for Public Security (Komitet do spraw Bezpieczeństwa Publicznego, KdsBP) from 1955, and then from 1957, of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych, MSW). In the provincial units of MSW, i.e., Voivodeship HQ of the Citizens’ Militia (Komenda Wojewódzka Milicji Obywatelskiej, KWMO) and from 1983, the Voivodeship Offices of Internal Affairs (Wojewódzki Urząd Spraw Wewnętrznych, WUSW), contained the relevant “B” divisions and sections. The “B” division (consisting of Bureau “B” in MSW and local “B” units) was supervised by the minister, who delegated his duties in this regard to the relevant deputy minister. Due to the reform of MSW in the early 1980s, which turned the ministry units into “services,” Bureau “B” was subordinated to the chief of the Operational Security Service (Służba Zabezpieczenia Operacyjnego).

Characteristics of the documentation

The records of the surveillance units were left in a reasonable state. This sector – unique among other technical-operational units (i.e., postal interception units and operational techniques units) – left records that can be used to describe its activity. The records consist of two groups. The first contains records of activity produced by the relevant unit, the second, documents produced for other operational units. The first group of records contains typical categories of files (including activity reports, other reports, and financial documentation) and the so-called “specific files” documenting the activity of the unit. The activity reports of the “B” division remained generally intact (except for the period of 1968–1974), however those from the 1980s do not contain much numerical data. The “specific files” were comprised of, among others, case files of covert surveillance points, safe houses and locales, as well as the case files of personal information sources. The case files of agents, informants, and safe houses were registered in MSW Bureau “C” (or the relevant “C” divisions in local departments), and after being closed, were consequently archived in the “C” unit archives. The “B” unit passed “surveillance communiqués” to the operational units, with notes identifying those persons having contact with the subject under observation, and a report with the data gathered during the surveillance. Those records were filed in the relevant case files, and – although internal regulations ordered their weeding – many of them remained.

Structures and personnel

From its very beginning, the security ministry had surveillance units. However, only when the Committee for Public Security (KdsBP) was formed (1954), was the independent surveillance division formed. In December 1955, two units tasked with surveillance duties functioned in KdsBP. The first was KdsBP Bureau “B” with 106 functionaries, tasked with the surveillance of citizens (so-called ‘domestic’ surveillance). Division XI of KdsBP Department II (Wydział XI Departamentu II KdsBP) was tasked with the so-called diplomatic surveillance, i.e., the surveillance of diplomatic personnel and foreigners from the West.

After the reorganisation of the security apparatus in the autumn of 1956, Bureau “B” of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was formed by Directive No. 00238/56 of 27 November 1956. On 1 April 1957, Bureau “B” and Division XI of the former KdsBP Department II were merged. In effect, Bureau “B” consisted of eight branches tasked with, among other things, street surveillance of diplomatic personnel, journalists from Western press agencies, and Polish citizens, as well as checking the contacts of persons visiting the embassies of democratic countries and hotels, and with the arrangement of so-called covert [surveillance] points and safe houses.

In the following years Bureau “B” underwent several reorganisations. In March 1965, the Division of Inspection, Analysis and Information was formed. In June 1967, Division VI of the Criminal Services Department of the Citizens’ Militia HQ (Wydział VI Oddziału Służby Kryminalnej Komendy Głównej Milicji Obywatelskiej; MO was the arm of the police responsible for matters of criminal law and order) was incorporated into Bureau “B,” as well as its subordinated local units: “A” Divisions and Sections (tasked with surveillance duties for the MO police). In June 1972, Division IX was formed, tasked with operational activity in hotels. In June 1978, Division XII was formed, dealing with operational filming and photography.

The extension of the “B” division structures followed the growing number of tasks; new divisions were formed and the number of functionaries increased. Directive No. 0019/86 from 20 February 1986 of the MSW Bureau “B” director defined the responsibilities of the Bureau’s divisions. At this time there were fifteen divisions, of which Divisions I–VII were tasked with the surveillance of Western diplomatic personnel, foreigners, and Polish citizens, as well as the organisation of safe-houses (contact flats) and covert surveillance points. Divisions I–III specialised in surveillance operations ordered by the MSW Intelligence and Counterintelligence Service [consisting of Departments I – foreign intelligence; II – counter-intelligence; Bureau “A” – encrypted communications; Passport Control Bureau; and Bureau RKW – signals intelligence unit]. Divisions IV and V worked for Departments III [containment of the opposition] – IV [invigilation of Churches and religious groups], V [containment of the opposition amongst workers], VI [containment of the opposition in rural society], the Studies Bureau [surveillance of the most important opposition circles], and the Citizens’ Militia. Division VI was responsible for stationary surveillance of diplomatic facilities, Division VII, for surveillance of the homes of diplomatic personnel and foreigners. Division VIII was tasked with the registration of persons under observation and keeping records, Division IX – with the operational surveillance and control of the Orbis tourist network of state hotels and Division X was responsible for inquiries and information checks. Division XI was responsible for transportation means and the MSW Bureau “B” Ensign School and Division XII was responsible for means of communication and the production of means of camouflage, as well as photography and filming. Division XIII was an internal control unit while Division XIV was a general unit, overseeing personnel matters and document circulation and Division XV was the Bureau’s command post – responsible for national counterintelligence supervision, but also for training tracking dogs, managing the Pantera (Panther) system enabling control over the telephone conversations of invigilated persons, and handling the accessible part of the MSW ZSKO electronic operational data system provided to Bureau “B.” In October 1986, the director of MSW Bureau “B,” Col. Zenon Daroszewski, made an application to raise the position of his unit in the service hierarchy, and transform it into MSW Department VII. However, positive reverberations in the ministry’s leadership did not result in an equally positive response. In January 1987, the MO Special Battalion of the Warsaw Internal Affairs office (Batalion Specjalny Stołecznego Urzedu Spraw Wewnętrznych), a unit tasked with the protection of diplomatic facilities, was transformed into MSW Bureau “B” Division XVI.

MSW Bureau “B” ceased to exist when the Communist security apparatus was dissolved. On 6 April 1990, the Polish parliament passed a package of legislation that liquidated the Citizens’ Militia (MO) and Security Service (SB), and in consequence, on 1 August 1990, the existing Bureau “B” was divided into the Operational Techniques Bureau of Police Central and the Surveillance Bureau of the Office for State Protection.

MSW Bureau “B” was one of the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs having the highest number of employees. The number of functionaries increased every year. In 1959, the number of posts was 479, in 1966 – 686, in 1975 – 887, in 1981 – 967, and in 1984 – 1,070. Employees were in constant rotation: some functionaries retired, others were unable to pass the probationary period, and some applied for transfer to other units due to the hardships of service. Apart from functionaries, also included under personnel was the so-called “retirees surveillance service,” i.e., retired MO and SB functionaries, who were manning stationary covert surveillance points, e.g., for “counterintelligence securing of territory from the penetration of diplomats and foreigners.” In 1975, Bureau “B” had 39 MSW pensioners; there were 69 in 1984.

Due to the specificity of service, the functionaries of the “B” units often fell ill to occupational diseases. Employees of more than ten years of service contracted typical illnesses: neurosis, spinal problems, ulcers, tuberculosis, and hypertension. In 1960, the chronically ill numbered 51% of unit employees, in 1978 – 22%, in 1985 – 30.5%. The reason for such a high percentage of ill functionaries (many of them of relatively young age) were the conditions of work – regardless of the weather, they were out in the open, as well as being in the shift system, day and night.

The specificity of service in the surveillance unit also created a need for special training for functionaries. Bureau “B” practically built its own training system from scratch. In April 1951, in Kobylin near Grójec (south of Warsaw), the training centre for surveillance service was formed, named School No. 5. In the following years, the unit was part of the Ministry of Public Security’s training centre, and then of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and was also a unit of the ministry. In 1959, it was merged into the Ministry of Internal Affairs Training Centre (Centrum Wyszkolenia MSW) in Legionowo – as a one-year Officers School of the MSW Surveillance Service (Szkoła Funkcjonariuszy Służby Obserwacyjnej MSW) (from 1962 as School No. 3). It existed until 1972, when it was merged into the MSW Department of Training and Occupational Improvement (Departament Szkolenia i Doskonalenia Zawodowego MSW) as the Training Division in the Surveillance or “B” School. Then, from November 1973, it was again independent, as the Centre for Surveillance Instruction (Ośrodek Nauczania Obserwacji). On 30 June 1975, the Centre was transformed into the MO Warrant Officer School (Szkoła Chorążych MO) in Warsaw, renamed in May 1976 as the MSW Warrant Officer School. Over the course of a decade it became subordinated to the MSW Higher Officers’ School in Legionowo. In November 1986, it was subordinated to MSW Bureau “B” and functioned within the structure of Division XI of the Bureau.

Methods of work

“External surveillance” was aimed at the recognition and recording (in writing, images, or video) of an invigilated person’s behaviour (their habits/contacts) and the functioning of an invigilated object (place). The basic principle of this work was secrecy – resulting from the definition of surveillance: spying on individuals (Polish citizens and foreigners) without their knowledge in a clandestine manner, with the use of relevant methods and means. In some cases open surveillance was used to prevent the invigilated person from doing certain activities, e.g., the photography of military objects by military attachés.

One of the important tasks of surveillance was identifying ‘contacts,’ i.e., personal data and information concerning the addresses of people who met with or visited the invigilated person. Other tasks of “B” units consisted of support for certain technical-operational activities of other security service units, such as covert arrests, covert entries, and the installation of eavesdropping devices. In the course of such operations, every person living or working in the vicinity of the place where the operation was being run, was under observation to prevent the functionaries from being caught by someone’s unexpected return. The surveillance squad informed the SB team about the approach of the person under observation to their centre of action. Surveillance was also used during protests and demonstrations, as well as other assemblies. The functionaries documented events with photos and film, also recording the speeches given by participants.

A request submitted by the operational unit in Bureau “B” or the relevant Division “B” initiated surveillance activities. In the request form, the commissioning party filed information about the invigilated person and indications concerning the surveillance. The surveillance process was divided into three stages: preparation, execution, and documentation. The “B” functionaries consulted the operational unit to gather as much information about the invigilated person as needed. The preparation of the “surveillance plan” and “situational plan” followed. The “surveillance plan” contained information including the manner of ‘recognizing’ the invigilated person, terms and circumstances of functionaries’ work, means of communication, and other equipment. The “situational plan” was a technical-topographical plan, and contained locations of covert surveillance points, or stakeout locations for surveillance agents, among other things. The surveillance team was usually consisted of up to four functionaries. A single surveillance operation could take three to four days – in justified situations it could be prolonged for up to seven days.

The forms of surveillance resulted from the methods of execution (e.g., the so-called “shadowing surveillance,” “stationary surveillance,” informant-assisted surveillance, etc.). Clandestine external surveillance was used in many varying circumstances – in cities, in the countryside, in public transport, in railway stations, restaurants, in forests and parks, or resorts and spas. The method most often used was the so-called “shadowing surveillance,” that is following or ‘tailing’ the affected person. The person under surveillance was followed on the street, and in any other public place visited – restaurants, cinemas, public transport, etc. The meetings with so-called ‘contacts’ (i.e., persons met) were photographed and then the team of surveillance agents was tasked with identifying the ‘contacts’ and their addresses. “B” surveillance agents used a range of disguises with props and accessories kept in so-called operational wardrobes, at central and mobile versions (e.g., a car or van). The disguises were often fitted with cameras.

The other type of surveillance was the ostensible “stationary surveillance,” i.e., observation from surveillance points. There were covert surveillance points, covert mobile surveillance points and outdoor points. Among other covert (observation) points (Punkt Zakryty, PZ, or Zakryty Punkt Obserwacyjny, ZPO) were also “signalling points” (punkt sygnalizacyjny), that is, a place where surveillance agents handed over the surveillance of a person leaving a flat or workplace to another team, and surveillance agent observation posts, that is, places where functionaries waited for a signal to commence the surveillance operation. The third group of PZ/covert points were the so-called “special points,” among these the leading role was taken by special covert points (Specjalny Punkt Zakryty, SPZ) (rooms or other points used to survey a specific area – e.g., roads, to record the movement of vehicles used by diplomatic personnel or foreigners), permanent covert points for a case of endangerment (rooms placed in the vicinity of some institutions and squares, where the security service anticipated protests or riots – e.g., panic or safe rooms for functionaries), and permanent control points (rooms in the vicinity of contact flats or safe-houses, used to control the area, especially to detect any suspicious interest that could potentially lead to the compromising of the object under observation). Mobile covert points were vehicles (mainly lorries and vans, Żuk or Nysa models) used to conduct the surveillance. So-called “plants” [persons or objects placed somewhere for surveillance purposes] had camouflaged photographic, filming, TV, or radio equipment, as well as ‘legalized’ vehicle documents and registration plates [real plates/documents, but with false information]. Open points were places outside, used by plainclothes functionaries to observe persons, objects, or vehicles under surveillance.

“Agent surveillance” was run with the assistance of informants. They were tasked with passing information concerning persons indicated (foreigners or Polish citizens). Informants also helped to find locations for “B” unit activities and participated in securing the covert entries. The general division of types of informant networks used resulted from the types of surveillance. There were networks of informants functioning in the vicinity of the flats of persons under long-term or permanent surveillance (e.g., opposition activists, diplomats), in places frequently visited by foreigners (e.g., restaurants, roadside diners or bars, swimming pools), and hotels (the ‘hotel informant network’). Apart from those mentioned above, there were also the following types of informant networks: ‘signalling,’ inquiry support, and providing operational cover (‘legalisation’). The ‘signalling’ agents were used for the ‘counterintelligence securing of terrain,’ e.g., petrol station and parking employees were recruited to report any passing of cars owned by diplomats and Western foreigners they observed. ‘Legalisation’ agents were people employed in institutions of state administration, housing cooperatives, and in local government offices, and facilitated the so-called ‘legalisation,’ i.e., a ‘cover’ under the names of state institutions for the “B” units. This kind of network enabled, e.g., payment of rent and electricity bills from the bank accounts of institutions that were formally the owners or tenants of “B” unit secret flats and other such locales.

The surveillance units also conducted inquiries and established ‘findings’ regarding invigilated persons. The inquiries consisted of gathering information from all of the person’s places of residence and work, and establishing the use of factual rather than personal sources for this activity, e.g., accommodation directories, hotel guest records, or telephone directories. Inquiries were conducted by Division X of MSW Bureau “B” and the inquiry sections of “B” divisions in local Citizens’ Militia HQs (those sections were disbanded in 1956, and re-established in 1982). In 1956–1982, inquiries for the security police units were done by the criminal police. The deadline for making an inquiry was thirty days. In every town district there were teams of “B” unit inspectors, tasked with recruiting informants and making inquiries and ‘establishing’ findings. Information was gathered from caretakers and concierges, housing office employees, functionaries, and retired security police living in the neighbourhood of the person of interest, etc. As well, functionaries used data resources kept in population registers, registry offices, and vehicle licensing authorities.

The basic type of record conducted in “B” units was the “observational case file” (teczka sprawy obserwacyjnej), initiated by filing an order for surveillance by the relevant operational unit. Separate case-files were set up for secret flats/safe-houses, covert surveillance points, and clandestine garages [for surveillance/police vehicles]. The basic document produced in the course of surveillance was a “communiqué”; after completing the surveillance procedure, an “account” was prepared. Some categories of foreigners under surveillance were registered in the “C” unit (operational registry and archive) as “preliminary materials”. The “B” units also had card indexes of all persons mentioned in their records: personal (with separate series for Polish citizens and foreigners), address card index, and vehicle card index. The document circulation of the “B” units as an operational-technical unit was arranged by internal regulations concerning the secrecy of operational activities. A 1982 decision by minister of internal affairs, Czesław Kiszczak, ordered the filing of documents reporting surveillance to only be redacted to conceal their origin in the relevant operational case-files. In eventual court cases, the surveillance “communiqué” could be used only when heavily redacted and ‘legalised,’ that is, after concealing the source of information. The films and photographs made by surveillance agents were only released as evidence in exceptional cases, and were filed in the records of formal investigations with an MO annotation made (i.e., the criminal police, not the security police).

Directions of Activities and Results

The “B” units ran surveillance on the orders of operational units of the Security Service (SB), Citizens’ Militia (MO), and the offices of the Citizens’ Milita HQ: Criminal Bureau (Biuro Kryminalne, KGMO), Economic Crime Containment Bureau (Biuro do Walki z Przestępstwami Gospodarczymi, KGMO), Investigation Bureau (Departament Dochodzeniowo-Śledczy, KGMO) and the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that were working with both criminal and security police – among others, the Directorate for Protection of Functionaries (Zarząd Ochrony Funkcjonariuszy, an internal control unit), and the personnel department (Departament Kadr). Moreover, the surveillance orders were filed in “B” units by other security authorities, including the Internal Military Service of the MSW Military Units (Wojskowa Służba Wewnętrzna Jednostek Wojskowych MSW, WSW JW – the security and order military police of the counterinsurgency troops), the Internal Military Service of the Ministry of National Defence (Wojskowa Służba Wewnętrzna Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, WSW MON – the security and order military police), Reconnaissance Directorate of the Border Protection Troops Command (Zarząd Zwiadu Dowództwa Wojsk Ochrony Pogranicza, Zwiad, WOP – security branch of the border guards), Directorate II of the Polish Army General Staff (Zarząd II Sztabu Generalnego Wojska Polskiego, Z II SG WP – foreign intelligence service of the military).

The main objective of Bureau “B” activities was the surveillance of Western diplomats and foreigners temporarily residing in Poland, who were under invigilation by MSW Department II (counterintelligence branch). The orders for surveillance filed by Department II units made up more than 70% of “B” unit tasks. The secret surveillance of diplomats aimed at identifying persons making contact with them, “dead drops” were used for intelligence communication, and postal interception was also used. Military attachés were invigilated openly – to prevent them from ‘penetrating’ territory, for example, taking pictures of military objects.

Bureau “B” conducted permanent surveillance of embassies. For example, in 1966 alone, surveillance records noted that 1,064 persons contacted diplomats and 1,380 persons visited diplomatic facilities. In the 1960s, only two embassies were under permanent surveillance: the USA and Israel. The number of people visiting the US embassy was 45,107, and 530 of them were recognised as “being in permanent contact.” The latter number made up only 1.1% of the general number of visitors. In the 1970s, the permanent control of embassies was widened –four embassies were under permanent surveillance, and a number of permanent covert surveillance points were established in their vicinity: the US embassy (3 covert points), the French embassy (1 covert point), the Western German embassy (2 covert points), and the British embassy (1 covert point). The surveillance of other embassies was – due to shortages in manpower – run ad hoc, when ordered by MSW Department II. The Special Battalion of the Warsaw’s Citizens’ Militia HQ was also used for securing embassies.

The other major task of “B” units was the “counterespionage securing of territory against penetration by Western diplomats and foreigners.” Initially this was a task of MSW Department II, taken over by the “B” units after the issue of Directive No. 0110/73 of 19 November 1973 by the minister of internal affairs; the “B” units then became solely responsible for this task. The “territory safeguarding system” was based on the network of informants signalling the passage of cars with ‘WZ’ and ‘I’ registration plates (used for foreigners living in Poland) through the main entrance roads into towns. Bureau “B” coordinated the effort on a national level – its direct performance was the task of the “B” Divisions and Sections in the 49 voivodeship security units. The relevant reports from voivodeship units were passed to the Bureau’s Command Post. In 1984, Bureau “B” used 62 special covert points throughout the country, which filed 40,443 reports of diplomats’ passages. In the same year,  69 MSW retirees worked in the part-time ‘freelance’ system surveillance service for Bureau “B”. In 1985, the “B” units monitored more than 5,000 ‘penetrative’ journeys by diplomatic employees (more than 4,000 of those were by American, British, French, and West German diplomats).

The “B” units also ran the surveillance of foreigners in hotels. In 1975, MSW Bureau “B” ‘secured’ six Orbis hotels in Warsaw: Victoria, Forum, Europejski, Grand, and Solec. All of these were the ‘objects’ in the object case-files. In 1975, the overall number of hotels secured by “B” Divisions was 69 (of the 440 hotels then existing in Poland); in 1976, the number grew to 116. In 1984, Bureau “B” MSW supervised seven Orbis hotels in Warsaw, and “B” divisions and “B” sections of the Operational Support Divisions secured 194 hotels in Poland. In the hotels, diplomats and foreigners were under clandestine control; among other things, their luggage was being secretly searched. In 1975, MSW Bureau “B” – fulfilling the orders of operational units as well as on its own initiative, ‘secured’ 6,442 persons staying in Orbis hotels in Warsaw (1,144 of them were under surveillance ordered by operational units), making up 2.17% of all foreigners residing in hotels (301,239). In the course of operations, MSW Bureau “B” produced 1,398 operational information reports, identified 1,248 persons making contact with Western foreigners and made 523 covert searches of luggage. In 1987, Bureau “B” regulated 113 diplomats, 2,831 foreigners, and 40 Polish citizens staying in hotels. The operational units that ordered the surveillance were provided with 1981 operational information reports and 269 covert searches were made.

MSW Bureau “B” also ran surveillance ordered by MSW Department III (dealing with the opposition) and MSW Department IV (dealing with the surveillance of clergy and Catholic circles). From 1956–1976, the ‘III’ units controlled the circles of former Home Army soldiers, WiN (a post-war underground organisation) fighters, and other political and independence activists – former political prisoners. The emergence of the new democratic opposition movements caused a shift in the focus of operations: members and co-workers of Komitet Obrony Robotników (KOR), the Solidarity trade union, and other opposition organisation members were put under surveillance. In the vicinity of the flats of prominent opposition activists, covert points were set up, e.g., two covert points were organised at Jacek Kuroń’s flat in the Żoliborz district in Warsaw. During martial law (1981–1982) and up until 1989, MSW Bureau “B” was also tasked with looking for wanted underground opposition members, the standard surveillance of invigilated opposition activists, and the surveillance of certain places – among others, flats, where clandestine printing houses and printing points were set up, or gathering places. The “B” functionaries also took part in the so-called operational securing of protests and other opposition events, i.e., hunger protests or manifestations commemorating national holidays (11th November, 3rd May). The functionaries took photos, filmed participants, and identified them; the documentation produced in this process was then used by the “III” units, and was also filed in MSW headquarters and with party authorities. In 1988, for instance, “B” functionaries, took 50,261 photographs and registered 1,163 hours of film during the observation of manifestations, protests, etc. In 1987, “B” units functionaries were also tasked with the surveillance of 256 opposition activists, which resulted in the identification of 660 “personal contacts” and the seizure of 22,000 illegal publications, 20,000 unofficial postage stamps printed by the ostensible Solidarity Post, and 12 printing machines, as well as the detection of 2 clandestine printing houses and 5 distribution points. In 1988, Bureau “B” uncovered 81 places of ‘illegal’ opposition meetings and 41 of printing and distribution points, and also apprehended 278 opposition activists.

The basic task of Bureau “B” MSW was carrying out the surveillance orders filed by operational units. The number of orders taken and performed by this unit was, until the second half of the 1980s, on a comparatively similar level. In the second half of the 1980s, the number of assignments doubled. In 1966, the Bureau performed 1,280 “observation assignments,” and 3,170 persons, 680 addresses, and 512 vehicles were identified, and in 127 cases, the correspondence of persons under surveillance was intercepted. In 1975, Bureau “B” conducted 1,046 observations, 70% of these for MSW Department II use: 1,568 persons contacting persons under surveillance were noted, as well as 521 addresses of invigilated persons and 4,203 vehicle owners, who were in touch with those persons or visited Western embassies. Intercepted were 91 letters posted by persons under surveillance and 3,824 operational photos were taken. In 1985, Bureau “B” performed 1,299 surveillance operations ordered, and also made 1,251 inquiries and established ‘findings’ concerning 6,983 persons, among those: 385 for the Service of Counterintelligence and Intelligence, 213 for Security Service units, and 446 for the personnel department. In 1986, Bureau “B” performed 2,738 tasks for the Security Service (counterintelligence and intelligence branches excluded), resulting in 26,000 pictures, 11,000 minutes of video footage and 1,500 minutes of operational footage.

MSW Bureau “B” did not only carry out orders filed by operational units, but also became a specialised surveillance unit. Over time, there was an expansion of the division’s structure and personnel, as well as a refinement of working methods and main directions of activity. These developments convinced the leadership of MSW Bureau “B” to aspire to the status of an independent department in the ministry. Although the bid to achieve promotion to the departmental level failed, Bureau “B” and its subordinate units were an important sector of the ministry – which was clearly visible in the level of expenses for technical measures and equipment.