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Statistics of crime rates in Poland


sam6  1 | 25
23 May 2016   #1
Crime rates in Poland

Is there any official statistics indicate the rate of crime in Poland؟

And what is the order of Poland among European countries in terms of safety ؟
gregy741  5 | 1226
23 May 2016   #2
dunno..check out nation master: nationmaster.com/country-info/profiles/Poland/Crime

just got to "top stats" icon
Wulkan  - | 3136
23 May 2016   #3
Poland is quite safer than western Europe unless you look like a muslim outsider, there is a lot of anti-muslim sentiment in Poland because of the refugees crisis.

"A British Sikh has told of his horror of being spat at, punched in the face and branded a "Muslim terrorist" as he tried to enter a Polish nightclub while wearing his turban.

London-born Nav Sawhney, 25, travelled to Krakow last Friday for a weekend away with a friend when he said he was subjected to a verbal and physical attack by the nightclub bouncer."


standard.co.uk/news/uk/sikh-londoner-spat-on-by-polish-bouncer-at-krakow-nightclub-and-called-muslim-terrorist-a3128021.html

this guy was attacked by the bouncer because he was thought to be a muslim although he was not, situations like this happen frequently in Poland.
OP sam6  1 | 25
23 May 2016   #4
Wulkan

I'm not religious, I do not have a beard

a normal person. respect the law .

I respect all people, I deal nicely and sophisticated.

gregy741

thank you so much

by the way :)

how much is the Davidoff 20 cigarette box?
Wulkan  - | 3136
23 May 2016   #5
I'm not religious, I do not have a beard

Well you can try to pretend that you're not muslim of course when on holiday but I remember you mentioning that you want to try to find a wife as well and that won't work with that very well.
OP sam6  1 | 25
23 May 2016   #6
Suit in nightclubs is important demonstrates the culture of the visiting person
I have read the previous post

Thank you for these helpful tips

I've changed my mind after I received tips .... will not get married from Poland
porky pok  2 | 127
23 May 2016   #7
Thank you for the big favour.Hope you are not looking for a sister either?
Anyway at age 40 what number wife are you looking for? #3,4?
Levi  11 | 433
23 May 2016   #8
Hey pork pok, take it easy on him, he already said that he changed his mind.

Anyway, Poland is extremelly safe.

While in Poland people may insult you verbally if you are dark skinned, in other places like London if you hold a beer in a Sharia law zone, you may get beaten very badly by the local sharia police.

So definitely Poland is safer than there.
OP sam6  1 | 25
24 May 2016   #9
Levi

thank you very muck , very good information
johnny reb  48 | 7892
24 May 2016   #10
, in other places like London if you hold a beer in a Sharia law zone

What is a Sharia law zone ?
Does Poland have one ?
dolnoslask  5 | 2805
24 May 2016   #11
The below video should help answer the question, there are many other documentaries on the subject

youtube.com/watch?v=rcsG-u2GtZEP

To my knowledge Poland does not have any sharia law zones as yet, but if Poland is forced to take in migrants these zones will start popping up and crime rates will rise accordingly.
OP sam6  1 | 25
24 May 2016   #12
I think illegal immigrants have a lot of problems the fact they should controlled or stopped

But those Syrian refugees migrated to fear their lives

And their children's lives
AdrianK9  6 | 364
24 May 2016   #13
Crime is rather low in Poland - at least the more serious crimes like murder, rape, arson, etc. There is some financial and property crime but not nearly to the same extent as the west. Corruption - perhaps, but again, to a much lesser degree than any other countries. It also depends on what your definition of corruption is - I consider giving millions in donations to a politician in exchange for special treatment for some company or industry to be corruption or bribery, but of course that is common practice in the US.

There is a bit of increase in drug possession, trafficking, and manufacture in Poland as the market has become more open. A lot more marijuana is grown locally, amphetamines are produced locally as well as exported for use to the west or even further processing in Netherlands especially. Cocaine use has grown quite a bit too. This is just par for the course though with more western influence on Poland and an expanding market - it's not only legit business that grows in a newly opened market...

Crime is punished rather harshly in Poland. I believe a DUI results in some 3-5 years of licence suspension and possession of a few ounces of marijuana can even result in 2-3 years in jail. However, serious crimes like murder don't carry as hefty sentences as in the US - which can result in life imprisonment or the death penalty. In Poland, some people with the right connections can even serve as little as 6-7 years for a murder if the victim was another male also engaged in criminality. Usually 10-20 years is standard though for a murder sentence.

The police are also pretty inept in Poland. They will only conduct investigations and put forth effort if someone above them essentially forces them. Aside from doing serious investigatory work, they're content with just writing tickets day to day. If your home is robbed, your business vandalized, or car stolen - don't expect the police in Poland to do much about it. Also, the attitude towards law and justice is a bit different in Poland - people are more likely to handle issues themselves. If two guys get into a fight, there's a good chance the police won't get called unless someone really got seriously injured. In that sense, people aren't a bunch of vaginas here and don't resort to the police to solve their issues.

In summary, serious crimes are rather low in Poland - this isn't western Europe or the US where Muslim gangs (black and hispanic in the US) control entire areas and openly deal drugs, beat people up, commit robberies, etc. Organized crime was much higher in the 90's - especially car theft, extortion, money laundering, etc. Now it's less organized and will usually just be a bunch of small groups dealing drugs or participating in some sort of scams..
Jardinero  1 | 383
24 May 2016   #14
Crime is rather low in Poland

As compared to...? One of the highest incarceration rates in EU.

Crime is punished rather harshly in Poland.

Not a chance. The laws are either outdated or so badly structured, that convicts sentenced for the most horrific crimes end up serving a fraction of the time they would receive in more civilised countries.

Combine that with the totally inefficient and incompetent court system (one of the most expensive and slowest in the EU, mind you), and it becomes a recipe for an atmosphere of lawlessness.
OP sam6  1 | 25
24 May 2016   #15
AdrianK9

wonderful Post
nothanks  - | 626
25 May 2016   #16
As compared to...?

Dysfunctional and degenerate Western Europe
AdrianK9  6 | 364
25 May 2016   #17
Jadinero I wrote above that minor crimes like a DUI or possession of marijuana typically result in very harsh sentences. It's common for a person to get 2 3 years in jail for having like 10 grams of weed. Even riding your bike drunk can result in jail. A first time DUI results in 4 5 years license suspension and possible jail time. However, serious crimes like murders do not have as strict punishment as in the US.

DUI laws are very very strict in Poland and you will find that a significant portion of the prison population is there for DUI. Riding a bike drunk in Poland can result in jail, while in Germany there are no people in jail for riding their bike drunk.

Although yes I do agree that the court system and police is slow to help victims, even after the perpetrators have been caught and there is plenty of evidence for a conviction. I know this through personal experience due to being a victim of a property crime that resulted in very expensive damages. The justice system is essentially half former commie vestige and half haphazard changes to be more democratic and eu friendly.. so yes it's a mess.. government beuracracy in general is insane in poland
Dougpol1  29 | 2497
25 May 2016   #18
Riding a bike drunk in Poland can result in jail

That barbarous law was rescinded I believe Adrian.
Marsupial  - | 871
25 May 2016   #19
It's a thing I have always been proud of about poland. Good law and order and no psychos with guns.
jon357  73 | 23221
25 May 2016   #20
I wrote above that minor crimes like a DUI

It does not result in a

very harsh sentences.

- in fact if the person is just a bit over the limit, they don't even lose their licence.

weed

Getting more and more popular here at the moment - there are shops in Warsaw openly selling seed and doing a roaring trade,

the court system and police i

Both very ineffective, corrupt and incompetent.
Jardinero  1 | 383
25 May 2016   #21
However, serious crimes like murders do not have as strict punishment as in the US

And that's the key issue. Plenty of inmates for minor offences, yet worst scum sentenced for murders, rapes, and assaults get off the hook just too easy... not sure why the entire legal system does not get a proper overhaul to remedy this - after all this is a fundamental issue.
jon357  73 | 23221
25 May 2016   #22
not sure why the entire legal system does not get a proper overhaul to remedy this

They'd have to admit they've been getting it wrong since 1920 - and have you often heard Poles admit they're wrong?
delphiandomine  86 | 17823
25 May 2016   #23
The problem is that any attempt to overhaul the legal system is going to met with a lot of suspicion from the opposition, and it also undermines the independent judiciary.

PO tried to speed things up by establishing the adversarial system in courts, which relieved judges from the duty of investigating the case themselves. PiS (of course) changed it back.
AdrianK9  6 | 364
25 May 2016   #24
Yes marijuana is becoming much more popular in Poland. Apparently, not just among the youth either. In fact, I've read several statistics that Poland consistently ranks in the top 3 in EU for percentage of people who smoke marijuana in the last year. France, Czech, Netherlands and Poland consistently rank at the top. Even before Poland joined the EU, a lot of the 'vice' shops like the sex shops, head shops, etc. were popping up everywhere. There use to be a bit of smart shops that would sell synthetic chemical drugs made in China, India or even some locally (i.e. Mocasz - which means strongman) but those are like the synthetic marijuana, bath salt, etc. type of drugs that people freak out on. Poland has outlawed these shops and much of the synthetic drugs. They really are terrible - people go crazy, act violent, develop tremors, kidney problems, and all sorts of other issues. The problem is that the chemists are really entrepreneurial and already have the next analogs lined up to hit the market once the existing ones become banned. It's a game of catch up that the cops and medical professionals play. I don't know why people would even use drugs that are made in some lab in China or bathtub in an abandoned house and have basically no history of human consumption nor medical testing.

However, possession laws are still pretty strict. I know someone who's in jail right now for 1 year because he was caught with a joint in his car. However, he had a previous record and didn't bother getting a private attorney (I don't think he could afford it). It's kind of ridiculous because in Poland if you're caught with say like 100 grams of marijuana, you'll get a much harsher sentence than you would in the US - jail is pretty much inevitable in that situation unless you have an excellent attorney, have an absolutely clean record, pay enormous fines, and do tons and tons of other stuff. In the US, if it's all in one bag, you'll probably get probation in most states. While in others it'd be a ticket - like in Ohio it'd be a $200 some dollar fine you wouldn't even have to go to court for.

I believe there was some push to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts but I don't know if that passed though or not. It's ridiculous because small amounts of even soft drugs carry far worse penalties than in the US or in the west. However, if you're caught with like 10 kilos of cocaine, heroin, or some hard drugs - you'll probably do like 5-7 years for that. 8-10 at the very most. In the US, you'd be looking at at least 20 years, potentially even life if you've had a previous trafficking or intent to sell charge.

which relieved judges from the duty of investigating the case themselves.

Isn't that the prosecutor's job?

in fact if the person is just a bit over the limit, they don't even lose their licence.

It really really depends on the cop, locality, how hard they're cracking down, and if cops are just arresting people to boost their arrest rates up and make themselves look good. For example, the bishop, cardinal (forgot his exact title - RCC hierarchy) of Warsaw got a 4 year license suspension and a bunch of community service for driving drunk - and not just a few beers, like he was wasted. In some areas, the police conduct sobriety checkpoints and they'll almost always nab at least one person a day. If you look up the charges of people who are in jail, you'll find that quite a few are there because of driving or biking while intoxicated. The limit is far less than in the US too - I believe it's like .02 or .04 or something... not exactly sure but I do know for a fact it's less than the .08 in the US.

Both very ineffective, corrupt and incompetent.

100% agree. It's a mix of old commie vestige with hastily changed laws to make Poland appear more democratic and EU friendly while still retaining a strict Catholic conservative stance. Some aspects of crime and punishment were actually far more lenient under Communism - but of course freedom of speech, press, assembly, etc. was limited and a person could be charged with 'crimes against the state' for something that would be considered normal today. However, things like abortion though were legal in communism.

- and have you often heard Poles admit they're wrong?

No, of course not. We're always right
delphiandomine  86 | 17823
25 May 2016   #25
The problem is that the chemists are really entrepreneurial and already have the next analogs lined up to hit the market once the existing ones become banned.

Ewa Kopacz came up with a clever solution to this - instead of banning them, the sellers get prosecuted under food safety laws. It's a very effective way of shutting down the sellers, as they can't prove that the 'food' is safe to consume.

I believe there was some push to decriminalize personal possession of small amounts but I don't know if that passed though or not.

No, people in Poland are pretty much against such laws. PiS were always dead against it, and PO never saw any political gain in it. There are always some pro-weed groups in the Sejm, but they don't have popular support.

While in others it'd be a ticket - like in Ohio it'd be a $200 some dollar fine you wouldn't even have to go to court for.

What I've seen suggested is quite clever. You give someone a fine like a parking ticket, but you train the officers to try and elicit where it came from. If they can do it, you can bust the big guys while the small time guy gets a fine and nothing more. Makes sense to me.

Isn't that the prosecutor's job?

This is the somewhat insane system used in much of Europe. The judge in this case also investigates - so what happens is that the judge calls the parties to court to ask some questions, then adjourns the trial for weeks while he continues the investigation. It's complete nonsense - the American-style adversarial system makes so much more sense. The other issue is that the judge is required under the investigative system to be familiar with everything in the case, whereas in the adversarial system, he/she is only required to establish whether the defendant is guilty or not based on the evidence presented by the prosecutor.

In some areas, the police conduct sobriety checkpoints and they'll almost always nab at least one person a day.

Yep, it's very common on long weekends to be stopped. One cool thing that the police started doing was quick checks - they approach you at the traffic lights, get you to quickly blow into the machine and if you're clear, off you go. Much better than stopping people at checkpoints.

The limit is far less than in the US too - I believe it's like .02

Yep, .02 it is. Must say, it's a good law - Poles are idiots on the roads, and letting them have any more than 0.2 in the system is asking for trouble.
AdrianK9  6 | 364
25 May 2016   #26
No, people in Poland are pretty much against such laws.

This was a while back - like around 2003-2004 I believe when there was a push for decriminalization of possession. Most older Poles and those in government, both on the left and right, still have a pretty unfavorable view of drug use even if its soft drugs like marijuana. Some even still believe in the 'reefer madness' view of marijuana. In Oborniki, there was like 4 people in Oborniki that would always get high on kompot and take relanium. They were doing it when my parents got married, when I was a child, and still would walk around begging for change and stealing stuff last time I visited there. One of them has since died but from the town gossip it appears the other 3 are still going at it. No one socializes with them and they were viewed as total scum. There's been a bit of changing attitude towards marijuana but most drugs are still viewed very negatively especially by the older generations.The youth is ever more into marijuana though as they watch MTV and it's all Polish rappers rap about (i..e Borixon, Popek, Ganja Mafia, etc.). Amphetamines are popular among some students and working class as well.

The Czechs decriminalized possession in small amounts of ALL drugs - yet hard drug use is pretty low there. The government argued that it would boost tourism and that Prague would be seen as like an 'Amsterdam of the East'

I think if a person wants to do drugs, liberal laws or lack there of aren't going to change that. Iran has the largest percentage of heroin addicts despite having very strict laws and being pretty much a theocracy. Same with Saudi Arabia -much of the wealthy youth sits at home and gets high because there's little else to do. On the other hand, marijuana is just about everywhere in the Netherlands, yet the rates of marijuana use by locals tend to be lower than France, Czech, Poland, etc.

Ewa Kopacz came up with a clever solution to this - instead of banning them, the sellers get prosecuted under food safety laws. I

Good. Those synthetic drugs like bath salts are just awful. There's been so many cases where people have gotten seizures, ended up in hospitals overdosing and needed to be restrained by 5 people

If they can do it, you can bust the big guys while the small time guy gets a fine and nothing more. Makes sense to me.

In US that is common. Oftentimes, police won't even charge a person for possession if they agree to work as an informant. Likewise, if a person is in jail/prison or facing a lengthy sentence, they can become an informant to reduce their sentence or even get out of jail/prison in some circumstances. I don't know if this is 100% accurate as I'm not an expert on this topic, but to my understanding that in Poland the police don't really do controlled purchases or use informants in the manner that the police in the US and other countries do.

Yep, .02 it is. Must say, it's a good law - Poles are idiots on the roads, and letting them have any more than 0.2 in the system is asking for trouble.

The craziest thing I've seen on Polish roads is truck drivers driving in the opposite direction - going into incoming traffic to avoid paying tolls.

I agree though, the last thing the roads need is more drunken Polish drivers.
johnny reb  48 | 7892
21 Jul 2023   #27
Poland comes in on the list at number ten on the list for top pick pocket countries in the E.U.
Italy
France
Netherlands
Germany
Greece
Spain
Portugal
Turkey
Ireland
Poland
I was surprised to see Germany so high on the list of low life scum.
Alien  24 | 5886
22 Jul 2023   #28
surprised to see Germany so high

But it is Barcelona that is the city in Europe where pickpockets will surely rob you.
johnny reb  48 | 7892
22 Jul 2023   #29
Poland is the third safest country in the EU, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical office

thefirstnews.com/article/poland-third-safest-country-in-eu---eurostat-20426

One more reason I love Poland so much even though I have only been there three times. :;-)
pawian  221 | 25649
22 Jul 2023   #30
Poland is the third safest country in the EU,

Yes, it is good to live here. The last time they broke into my car was in mid 1990s. The last time I was attacked in the street by a young drunk was in late 1990s.

though I have only been there three times. :;-)

It must have been in the pre-photography era coz you never post any pics. :):):)


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