Poland
Poland regularly reports hate crime data to ODIHR. Poland's Criminal Code contains several substantive offences. Data reported to ODIHR include cases of incitement to hatred. Hate crime data are collected by the Department of Control, Complaints and Petitions of the Ministry of the Interior, the General Police Headquarters, the Internal Security Agency, the Preparatory Proceedings Office of the General Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice, the Institute of National Remembrance – General Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation, and the Ombudsman's Office. Hate crime data are regularly published.
OFFICIAL DATA
Year | Hate crimes recorded by police | Prosecuted | Sentenced |
---|---|---|---|
2020 | 826 | 374 | 266 |
2019 | 972 | 432 | 597 |
2018 | 1117 | 397 | 315 |
2017 | 886 | 320 | 260 |
2016 | 874 | 281 | 236 |
2015 | 263 | 229 | 195 |
2014 | 778 | 179 | 127 |
2013 | 757 | 116 | 53 |
2012 | 266 | 76 | 39 |
2011 | 222 | 43 | 24 |
2010 | 251 | 30 | 28 |
2009 | 194 | 29 | 27 |
About 2014 Data
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Two sets of data are reported to ODIHR: the overall number of hate crimes is provided by the police and disaggregated by type of crime, but not by bias motivation (presented in the “unspecified” bias motivation section below). The Ministry of the Interior reports a number of hate crimes disaggregated by bias motivation, but not by type of crime. Most of the cases recorded by the Ministry of the Interior are included in the overall figure (although due to technical limitations, these are also displayed separately below). Reported data include crimes of incitement to hatred and discrimination cases.
Incidents reported by civil society, international organizations and the Holy See
INTERNATIONAL REPORTS
Racist and xenophobic hate crime
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported several initiatives in Poland related to hate crime. The Polish police created a Police Platform against Hatred, which includes Police Human Rights Plenipotentiaries from all regions, representatives from the ombudsperson’s office, UNHCR, civil society groups and the Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment from the Ministry of Interior. The platform holds quarterly meetings to discuss current challenges related to hate crime and ways to address them.
UNHCR also reported that the Ministry of the Interior published a report on the state of combatting racism and xenophobia in Białystok, the Afryka Connect Foundation organized regular meetings on hate crime and intolerance involving migrants, and the municipality of Białystok organized the "Tolerance is OK" open conference.
The UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) recommended changes to the Polish criminal code, specifically making the racial motivation of a crime an aggravating circumstance and allowing for enhanced punishment to combat the occurrence of such acts. It also noted its concern that victims may not be willing to report incidents through official channels, recommending as a result that Poland continue its training programmes for police officers, prosecutors and judges.
It its fifth report on Poland, the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI) commended the guidance on prosecuting hate crimes issued by the Prosecutor General and encouraged its effective implementation. ECRI also recommended that Polish authorities improve their system for collecting hate crime data.
KEY OBSERVATION
ODIHR observes that Poland has not reported on hate crimes separately from cases of hate speech.