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Crime in Poland

National Police Headquarters in Warsaw
Polish police officers and vehicles

Crime in Poland refers to the incidence, deterrence, and handling of criminal activity in the Republic of Poland by Polish law enforcement agencies charged with ensuring public safety and maintaining order. Poland ranks favorably in terms of public safety, with one of the lowest homicide rates in Europe.[1] Poland was ranked 25th in the 2022 Global Peace Index[2] and scored 0.0 on the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.[3]

Crime by type

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Murder

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Further information: List of countries by intentional homicide rate

In 2022, Poland's homicide rate was 0.68 per 100,000, with a total of 270 murders committed.[1] The murder rate has remained relatively stable since 2014, when it was 0.74 per 100,000, with a total of 287 murders committed.[1] The highest recorded homicide rate in the modern history of Poland was 2.39 per 100,000 in 1994,[1] still during the democratic consolidation period following the 1989 fall of communism, which put an end to the Polish People's Republic and started the democratic transition.

Sexual violence

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Further information: Rape statistics

According to UNODC data, the rape rate in Poland was 1.48 per 100,000 in 2022, down from 1.70 per 100,000 in 2015.[4] The sexual assault rate also decreased from 1.09 per 100,000 in 2015 to 0.9 per 100,000 in 2022.[4]

Organized crime

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The Central Investigation Bureau of Police during a training mission

The Central Investigation Bureau of Police (pol. Centralne Biuro Śledcze Policji, CBŚP) is the law enforcement unit of the Polish Police responsible for fighting organized crime.

The most well-known of the Polish organized crime groups in the 1990s were the so-called Pruszków and Wołomin gangs.[5]

Polish organized crime emerged in the 1990s when the traditional criminal underworld became better organised due to rising corruption.[6] Organized crime groups were well known (1992) for operating sophisticated car theft-rings,[7] as well as for their involvement in drug trafficking (the main drug being amphetamine) and weapon trafficking.

Main article: Pruszków mafia

The Pruszków mafia was an organized criminal group that emerged from the Warsaw suburb of Pruszków at the beginning of the 1990s. The group is known for being involved in large car-theft rings, drug trafficking (including cocaine, heroin, hashish and amphetamine), kidnapping, extortion, weapon trafficking (including AK-47's) and murder. Even though law enforcement dealt a severe blow to the Pruszków mafia, it is alleged that Pruszków-based gangs, with or without notice from their former leaders, have regained their strength in recent years and have begun setting up their car-theft rings and connections with Colombian drug cartels again.[8]

A similar organized crime group known as the Wołomin mafia from Wołomin near Warsaw, with whom they fought bloody turf wars,[9] was crushed by the Polish police in cooperation with the German police in a spectacular raid on a highway between Konin and Poznan in September 2011.[10]

Logo of the Central Anticorruption Bureau

Corruption

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Main article: Corruption in Poland

According to the Corruption Perception Index for 2015, Poland was ranked as the 29th country with the least perceived corruption out of 168 countries assessed.[11] It is the eleventh successive year in which Poland's score and ranking has improved in the Index.

The law enforcement agency responsible for combating corruption within Poland's public sector is the Central Anticorruption Bureau (pol. Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne).

Polish cities most affected by crime

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Polish cities most affected by crime, 2006.[12]
# City Number of crimes per
100,000 inhabitants
1. Sobótka 7063,7
2. Chorzów 6733,3
3. Legnica 6361,5
4. Kalisz 6228,2
5. Gdańsk 6133,7
6. Poznań 6109,2
7. Wrocław 5983,4
8. Kraków 5974,2
9. Kielce 5926,6
10. Gliwice 5733,5
11. Opole 5649,8
12. Włocławek 5626,9
13. Warsaw 5353,2
14. Bytom 5332,5
15. Elbląg 5328,1
16. Zielona Góra 5193,2
17. Tarnów 5187,3
18. Gorzów Wielkopolski 5156,6
19. Szczecin 5120,9
20. Toruń 5120,2
21. Łódź 5116,4
22. Sosnowiec 5051,7
23. Bielsko-Biała 4969,1
24. Lublin 4968,7
25. Zabrze 4808,8
26. Wałbrzych 4710,2
27. Dąbrowa Górnicza 4690,8
28. Radom 4670,1
29. Bydgoszcz 4515,1
30. Rybnik 4500,7
31. Gdynia 4328,1
32. Olsztyn 4317
33. Koszalin 4004,7
34. Ruda Śląska 3945,3
35. Rzeszów 3890,9
36. Tychy 3842,7
37. Częstochowa 3786,5
38. Płock 3262,5
39. Białystok 2977

Crime dynamics

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While local organized crime in Poland existed during the interwar period, it has mostly developed since the fall of communism (late 1980s/1990s) with the introduction of free market system in Poland and the lessening of the police (milicja) power.

Crime in Poland is lower than in many countries of Europe.[13]

Newer studies (2009) report that the crime victimisation rate in Poland is constantly decreasing, and in 2008 Poland was at a low end of 25 among the 36 European countries listed.[14][15] A 2004 report on security concerns of European Union residents indicated that the Polish public (along with that of Greece) are the most afraid of crime, a finding which does not correlate with the actual crime threat.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Intentional homicide". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2023-07-12. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  2. ^ Global Peace Index 2022: Measuring Peace in a Complex World (PDF) (Report). Institute for Economics & Peace. 2022-06-06. OCLC 1357666289. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  3. ^ Global Terrorism Index 2023: Measuring the Impact of Terrorism (PDF) (Report). Institute for Economics & Peace. 2023-03-03. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  4. ^ a b "Violent offences". United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 2024-05-16. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  5. ^ "Head of the Polish MI on the priorities and key strategies of the Ministry". Msw.gov.pl. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  6. ^ Plywaczewski, Emil (2004). "Organised Crime in Poland: Its Development from 'Real Socialism' to Present Times". Organised Crime in Europe. Studies of Organized Crime. Vol. 4. pp. 467–498. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-2765-9_17. ISBN 978-1-4020-2615-7.
  7. ^ The Christian Science Monitor, April 13, 1992.
  8. ^ "Gang pruszkowski znów rośnie w siłę | zyciewarszawy.pl" (in Polish). Zw.com.pl. 2017-09-08. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  9. ^ Klaus Bachmann (1970-01-01). ""Nikos" Skotarczak starb bei Frühstück im Nachtclub: Gründervater der Auto-Mafia erschossen | Berliner Zeitung". Berliner-zeitung.de. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2018-04-22.
  10. ^ Ag. (29 September 2011), Policja rozbiła gang samochodowy z Wołomina. Widowiskowa akcja na autostradzie Super Express, Kronika kryminalna.
  11. ^ "Corruption Perceptions Index 2015". Archived from the original on 29 August 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2016.
  12. ^ Wprost, June 2006
  13. ^ J. van Dijk, J. van Kesteren, P. Smit, Criminal Victimisation in International Perspective, Key Findings from the 2004-2005 ICVS and EU ICS Archived 2008-12-19 at the Wayback Machine, WODC 2007
  14. ^ A. Siemaszko, B. Gruszczyńska, M. Marczewski Atlas przestępczości w Polsce 4, Instytut Wymiaru Sprawiedliwości, 2009
  15. ^ E. Siedlecka, Lawinowy spadek przestępczości, Gazeta Wyborcza, 2.3.2009
  16. ^ J. van Dijk, R. Manchin, J. van Kesteren, S. Nevala, G. Hideg The Burden of Crime in the EU Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine Research Report: A Comparative Analysis of the European Crime and Safety Survey (EU ICS) 2005

Further reading

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