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Crime in Poland refers to theincidence,deterrence, and handling ofcriminal activity in theRepublic of Poland byPolish law enforcement agencies charged with ensuringpublic safety and maintainingorder. Poland ranks favorably in terms of public safety, with one of the lowesthomicide rates in Europe.[1] Poland was ranked 25th in the 2022Global Peace Index[2] and scored 0.0 on the 2023Global Terrorism Index.[3]
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 themodern history of Poland was 2.39 per 100,000 in 1994,[1] still during thedemocratic consolidation period following the1989 fall of communism, which put an end to thePolish People's Republic and started thedemocratic transition.
According toUNODC data, therape rate in Poland was 1.29 per 100,000 in 2023, down from 1.72 per 100,000 in 2015.[4] Meanwhile, the median annualsexual assault rate was 0.94 per 100,000 people during the latest five-year period from 2019 to 2023.[4]
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TheCentral 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 thePolish organized crime groups in the 1990s were the so-calledPruszków andWołomin 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 sophisticatedcar theft-rings,[7] as well as for their involvement in drug trafficking (the main drug beingamphetamine) and weapon trafficking.
ThePruszków mafia was an organized criminal group that emerged from the Warsaw suburb ofPruszków at the beginning of the 1990s. The group is known for being involved in large car-theft rings,drug trafficking (includingcocaine,heroin,hashish andamphetamine),kidnapping,extortion,weapon trafficking (includingAK-47's) andmurder. Even though law enforcement dealt a severe blow to thePruszków 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 withColombian drug cartels again.[8]
A similar organized crime group known as theWołomin mafia fromWołomin nearWarsaw, 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]
According to theCorruption 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 theCentral Anticorruption Bureau (Polish:Centralne Biuro Antykorupcyjne).
| # | 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 |
While local organized crime in Poland existed during the interwar period, it has mostly developed since thefall of communism (late 1980s/1990s) with the introduction offree market system in Poland and the lessening of thepolice (milicja) power.
Crime in Poland is lower than in many countries ofEurope.[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]