Steven
31 Mar 2006 / #1
"Last week early in the morning two of my son's friends on their way to work were beaten up. They were passing the Old Marketplace when two bandits for no reason whatsoever attacked them and beat them up. Nothing was stolen. It was just for fun. There was no Police, no City Guard. Myself, I feel quite safe, because I don't leave home, but I see what happens outside through the window, and I am scared. I only saw a policeman twice in the last six month."
Krystyna.
During the socialist regime, whose reign came to an abrupt end in 1989, Poland was one of the safest countries in Europe. The Polish Police, so called "Milicja" had almost unlimited power and ruled the cities with an iron fist. Wherever you went there was always a policeman in the vicinity. Sometimes you had a feeling that every other person in the street was either a regular policeman or a secret one. No wonder that the streets were safe.
Once the old regime collapsed, so did the Police force. Hated for their support of the oppressive form of socialism that was ruling the country for half a century, the Police were in no time relegated into the background. Since the people were allowed to say whatever they wanted - not that anyone cared - there was no need anymore for that many spies and secret police. Also the new republic based on the market economy suddenly noticed the economic realities. The Police costs money that could better spent elsewhere and the Police did not contribute anything to the ailing Polish budget. As a result thousands of secret agents and regular policemen were no longer needed and were given the boot.
This abrupt change - not only in Poland, but also in other new "democracies," Russia being the scariest example - let until now dormant powers to surface. All of a sudden and almost immediately Poland had an organized mafia, scores of bandits and robbers roaming the streets, hoods attacked innocent people on streets and in their homes. What was even scarier, many of the former policemen and secret agents, without any offers of new employment, went over to the other side. Poland was almost in a state of anarchy.
I won't be talking about the organized crime on this occasion, since it is a huge subject in itself, just about the safety on the streets, the way a citizen perceives it.
Unfortunately in today's new economic climate, with over 20% unemployment, many people do not have a job, and the support offered by the state rightly can be called a joke offering. A very meager support of just a few hundred zloty and that for one year only. After that it is social security and for many it means living in the street when money is not sufficient to rent a flat.
No wonder, many choose "easy money," a Robin Hood mentality. After all, there are many people that make good money in the system, and it is no more than fair that they share with others what they have, they reason. Thus, break-ins and robberies are common. Young unemployed gentlemen wait in the street corners more than happy to free aged ladies from their handbags. A common strategy is to wait in a bank for someone to lift a substantial amount of cash and, subsequently, follow them to their apartment. A middle-aged handicapped lady I know, was followed home from a bank by two young and strong men. Once she opened the door to the apartment, the gentlemen asked for her bag with the money and when she tried to resist and cried, she was badly beaten.
It is also wise not to carry chains of gold or golden ear-rings, since it is not uncommon that perpetrators will snatch it off your neck or even worse, your ears. Even mobile phones are attractive and many a youth have had to hand them over for free to the people they do not even know.
Stealing and robbing is one thing, but being beaten up for no reason whatsoever, which is quite common, is another. Many young men that have nothing better to do, hang in parks and streets outside their own homes waiting for a suitable delinquent to come along. It seems they feel that beating up someone offers much more entertainment value than watching Schwartzenegger (you know - Arnold) do it on the screen. You can play a sociologist and try to deduct the reason behind this kind of meaningless aggression, the fact remains for many youngsters beating up someone is the best way of spending an evening.
Whether the Polish cities are safe is a complicated question; during the day and in the middle of the town, there is probably not much danger, but in the dark and especially in the suburbs, stranger beware. Unless you are a karate-kid on an exploratory trip into the danger zone, you'd be better off staying back in your hotel room.
Steven
Krystyna.
During the socialist regime, whose reign came to an abrupt end in 1989, Poland was one of the safest countries in Europe. The Polish Police, so called "Milicja" had almost unlimited power and ruled the cities with an iron fist. Wherever you went there was always a policeman in the vicinity. Sometimes you had a feeling that every other person in the street was either a regular policeman or a secret one. No wonder that the streets were safe.
Once the old regime collapsed, so did the Police force. Hated for their support of the oppressive form of socialism that was ruling the country for half a century, the Police were in no time relegated into the background. Since the people were allowed to say whatever they wanted - not that anyone cared - there was no need anymore for that many spies and secret police. Also the new republic based on the market economy suddenly noticed the economic realities. The Police costs money that could better spent elsewhere and the Police did not contribute anything to the ailing Polish budget. As a result thousands of secret agents and regular policemen were no longer needed and were given the boot.
This abrupt change - not only in Poland, but also in other new "democracies," Russia being the scariest example - let until now dormant powers to surface. All of a sudden and almost immediately Poland had an organized mafia, scores of bandits and robbers roaming the streets, hoods attacked innocent people on streets and in their homes. What was even scarier, many of the former policemen and secret agents, without any offers of new employment, went over to the other side. Poland was almost in a state of anarchy.
I won't be talking about the organized crime on this occasion, since it is a huge subject in itself, just about the safety on the streets, the way a citizen perceives it.
Unfortunately in today's new economic climate, with over 20% unemployment, many people do not have a job, and the support offered by the state rightly can be called a joke offering. A very meager support of just a few hundred zloty and that for one year only. After that it is social security and for many it means living in the street when money is not sufficient to rent a flat.
No wonder, many choose "easy money," a Robin Hood mentality. After all, there are many people that make good money in the system, and it is no more than fair that they share with others what they have, they reason. Thus, break-ins and robberies are common. Young unemployed gentlemen wait in the street corners more than happy to free aged ladies from their handbags. A common strategy is to wait in a bank for someone to lift a substantial amount of cash and, subsequently, follow them to their apartment. A middle-aged handicapped lady I know, was followed home from a bank by two young and strong men. Once she opened the door to the apartment, the gentlemen asked for her bag with the money and when she tried to resist and cried, she was badly beaten.
It is also wise not to carry chains of gold or golden ear-rings, since it is not uncommon that perpetrators will snatch it off your neck or even worse, your ears. Even mobile phones are attractive and many a youth have had to hand them over for free to the people they do not even know.
Stealing and robbing is one thing, but being beaten up for no reason whatsoever, which is quite common, is another. Many young men that have nothing better to do, hang in parks and streets outside their own homes waiting for a suitable delinquent to come along. It seems they feel that beating up someone offers much more entertainment value than watching Schwartzenegger (you know - Arnold) do it on the screen. You can play a sociologist and try to deduct the reason behind this kind of meaningless aggression, the fact remains for many youngsters beating up someone is the best way of spending an evening.
Whether the Polish cities are safe is a complicated question; during the day and in the middle of the town, there is probably not much danger, but in the dark and especially in the suburbs, stranger beware. Unless you are a karate-kid on an exploratory trip into the danger zone, you'd be better off staying back in your hotel room.
Steven