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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. 

How hate crime data is collected in Poland

How hate crime data is collected in Poland

Several public bodies are involved in monitoring and/or collecting data on hate crimes. The main actors in this field are the police and the Prosecutor's Office. Each has a separate recording system and methodology for this task. Since 2015, the police and the Ministry of the Interior and Administration have jointly developed and shared a hate crime data collection system.

All offences committed against people because of their racial, national, ethnic or religious background are classified as hate crimes. While there are no general guidelines on hate crime recording, police officers are required to establish whether the perpetrator was acting out of bias motivation. Bias indicators such as behaviour and statements during the act, circumstances of the crime and characteristics and circumstances connected with the victim are used to determine the motive.

Hate crimes are flagged on the incident form as well as in the police force's electronic database.

Special co-ordinators at both the central (the National Hate Crime Co-ordinator in the Criminal Bureau of the General Police Headquarters) and local levels (police headquarters in every Voivodeship and the Metropolitan Police Headquarters) are responsible for preventing and investigating hate crimes, as well as for compiling data from their district and reporting them monthly to the National Police Information System (KSIP). Monthly reports are forwarded to the Ministry of the Interior and Administration. The same structure is also used to monitor hate speech incidents, which are crimes under the Polish Penal Code. However, these can be separated in the reporting. Data from the police are available on request.

Prosecutors record hate crimes when bias motivations are identified in the proceedings or are implicit in the crime. Guidelines on conducting proceedings for hate crimes cases, issued by the prosecutor general in 2014, unify practices for the prosecution and reporting of hate crimes. Every prosecuted hate crime should be reported to a superior Prosecutor's Office. The cases are also monitored by the Department of Preparatory Proceedings of the National Public Prosecutor's Office, which issues a report on all cases to the Prosecutor General and provides recommendations to subordinate Prosecutor's Offices. The National Public Prosecutor's Office publishes data on hate crime online every six months. Published data contain excerpts from reports on investigations conducted in the organizational units of the prosecutor in a given period of time.

The Division of Statistical Management Information in the Department of Strategy and European Funds of the Ministry of Justice is responsible for organizing, co-ordinating, supervising and preparing statistical reports, including information on hate crimes. The data are obtained from two sources: statistical reports prepared by courts every six months, and the electronic database of the National Criminal Register. The data are published online.

Besides collating the reports from police and receiving information on judicial outcomes from the courts, the Ministry of the Interior and Administration also conducts its own independent monitoring activities.

Access more information at the Legislation Online website Legislationline TANDIS Access more information at the Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Information System (TANDIS) website

SELECT YEAR

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OFFICIAL DATA

Year Hate crimes recorded by police Prosecuted Sentenced
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

    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.
  • By bias motivation
  • By type of crime
Download official data
Download official data

National developments

The Polish Police continued providing training workshops on hate crime for police officers as part of ODIHR’s TAHCLE programme.

The Criminal Service Bureau, Voivodship police headquarters and Metropolitan Police Headquarters appointed hate crime co-ordinators in local police units. The co-ordinators compile monthly updates on hate crime investigations and submit them to the Criminal Service Bureau of General Police Headquarters.

The Voivodship police headquarters and Metropolitan Police Headquarters established specialized units for combating cybercrime, based on a model of the Cybercrime Unit of the General Police Headquarters. The new units’ specialists monitor Internet websites to identify cases of hate speech, which can constitute crimes in Poland.

The General Police Headquarters launched a Platform against Hate, which gathers the representatives of the police, public institutions and nongovernmental organizations. Representatives of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ombudsman's Office, the Government Plenipotentiary for Equal Treatment Office, the Ministry of Justice, representatives of the police from General Police Headquarters and from local police units and civil society groups attend Platform meetings. The aim of the Platform is to exchange the experiences and develop best practices when countering hate crimes.

The Ministry of the Interior carried out a nationwide information campaign called “Racism. Say it to fight it!”, aimed at increasing awareness and reporting of hate crimes. The campaign launched a website that includes a reporting form. Leaflets and TV spots were also prepared and a conference organized as part of the campaign.

The General Prosecutor’s Office launched two sets of guidelines for prosecutors in 2014. The Guidelines on conducting proceedings in hate crime cases contains guidance on how to investigate hate crimes correctly, and what steps - other than based on the Penal Code - should be undertaken by prosecutors in hate crime cases. The guidelines also deal with recording information about hate crime prosecutions. Prosecutors have also received the new Guidelines on hate crimes committed via the Internet. Their main aim is to unify practice in investigation and prosecution of these types of hate crime and hate speech cases.

Incidents reported by civil society, international organizations and the Holy See

TOTAL 110 INCIDENTS
Download incident data

Reports

Hate crime against Christians and members of other religions

The Holy See reported two physical assaults on Catholic priests, one of which involved the theft of parish property. The Holy See further reported a church burglary, one incident of vandalism and two incidents of the desecration of places of worship. The Polish authorities reported that in one incident of desecration, the perpetrator was charged with hate crime, whereas no bias motivation could be confirmed in the other incidents.

The Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians, the Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture and the Never Again Association reported an incident of anti-Semitic graffiti on a Catholic monument. The Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture reported damage to a chapel and four incidents of vandalism.

read more ›

Anti-Semitic hate crime

The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland reported two incidents of graffiti, including one on a synagogue; two incidents of damage to property, including one in which the windows of a synagogue were smashed and one in which a memorial was destroyed. The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland and the Never Again Association reported the desecration of a grave. The Never Again Association reported one physical assault, one arson attack on a synagogue, three incidents of threat and ten incidents of graffiti.

The Never Again Association, the Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination against Christians and the Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture reported an incident of graffiti in which the Star of David was painted on a monument to John Paul II. 

read more ›

Anti-LGBTI hate crime

ILGA-Europe, the Never Again Association and the Campaign Against Homophobia (KPH) reported the murder of a gay man, who was beaten and drowned. ILGA-Europe and the KPH additionally reported four physical assaults, including one carried out by a group against a gay boy in which his dog was also attacked, and attacks against a man and his partner, a transgender woman and a gay man; and one incident of damage to a mural promoting diversity and equal treatment.

read more ›

Disability hate crime

The Never Again Association reported a physical assault against a young man causing serious injury.

read more ›

Anti-Roma hate crime

The Never Again Association reported two incidents of assaults carried out by groups causing serious injuries, one of which targeted a Roma woman and her children; one physical assault on a Roma man; two incidents of graffiti on Roma homes; and one incident of damage to property. 

read more ›

Racist and xenophobic hate crime

The Never Again Association reported seven incidents of physical attacks carried out by groups, causing serious injuries, one physical assault against a Moroccan man, seven incidents of physical assault, including one carried out by a group, six incidents of threats, an arson attack on a Greek Catholic church, 14 incidents of graffiti and one incident of damage to property. 

read more ›

Anti-Muslim hate crime

World Without Nazism reported two incidents of damage to property, one targeting a mosque and the second a cemetery.

read more ›

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.

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Contact Us

Email tndinfo@odihr.pl
Tel +48 22 520 06 00
Fax +48 22 520 06 05
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR)
Tolerance and Non-Discrimination Department
Ul. Miodowa 10
00-251
Warsaw, Poland

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