Objectives:
The purpose of the article and the research conducted is to identify the factors and criteria determining promotion in the Police.

Material and methods:
The research used the diagnostic survey method, survey research technique and an original research tool in the form of a survey questionnaire. The survey research was conducted at the turn of 2019 and 2020. The research involved the so-called internal stakeholders who are police officers at various levels and, above all, improve their qualifications as part of an officer course and postgraduate studies organized at the Police Academy in Szczytno. For the purposes of this article, they are called internal stakeholders by the authors.

Results:
The research shows that in a uniformed formation such as the police, the use of rational criteria determining professional promotion to higher positions is very limited. It can be assumed that there are certain symptoms that are generally considered pathological, in which promotion is most often determined by other, often non-substantive factors.

Conclusions:
The conducted research indicates the need for an in-depth assessment and analysis of the implemented human resources management principles and the implementation of procedures to improve the state of human resources in this formation. It is also necessary to implement rules and procedures for constant supervision of the human resources management process, in particular the promotion process.