This study is the result of many years of permanent observation of the broadly understood area of security and the area of penitentiary science that is strictly connected with it. Due to the complexity of the undertaken considerations, the author of the study decided to emphasise a certain space, which is of an extremely significant value for utilitarian reasons. However, the issue in question has never been fully described in literature. The conducted research and the data obtained as a result indicate unequivocally that there is a need to examine the management of security systems in penitentiary institutions in Poland by a thorough analysis of its individual components.