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3.1.2 Poland
3.1.2.1 Official Data on Hate Crimes
Unlike Germany, there has been no general discussion in Poland concerning police registration systems focused on hate crimes. Relevant data and figures are collected by government and law enforcement institutions in a non-systematic way. There is no centralized system of data collection and evaluation, which makes it difficult to research and compile the dispersed information. The police do not issue any regular reports or press releases that would constitute an attempt to give an overview of recent trends and could serve as a base for a critical public discussion. Nor do the special services responsible for state security—the Agency for Internal Security and its predecessor, the Office for the Protection of the State—publish annual public reports on political extremism and hate crimes. The Police Headquarters Office and the Police System of Crime Statistics Temida (Policyjny System Statystyki Przestępczości »Temida«) remain the main official sources for data concerning incidents of racist violence and hate speech. Some of the data is published on the police headquarters’ website. No information is collected and published that focuses on bias motivations (xenophobia, anti-Semitism etc.) or the victim groups affected.
Table 4: Police data on racist or xenophobic crimes (including hate speech) reported
under legal articles for the years 2005-2007
| 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | |
| Crimes against freedom of conscience and religion (Art. 194, 195 and 196 Criminal Code) | 104 | 61 | 74 |
| Hate speech/incitement of people (Art. 256 and 257 Criminal Code) | 52 | 82 | 115 |
| Hate crimes against individuals/groups based on national, ethnic, political, or religious affiliation (Art. 118 and 119 Criminal Code) | 16 | 12 | no official data (86 incidents, according to the Plenipotentiary of the High Police Commissioner for Human Rights Protection, between January and September 2007)(4) |
| Total | 172 | 155 | 189 |
Source: Mikulska, Agnieszka 2008: Xenophobia and Ethnic Discrimination in Poland—Outline of the Situation, Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights, Warsaw, p. 12 (based on data from the “Temida” police and the public prosecutor statistical system).
A relatively new source of data and information concerning racist violence and hate crimes in Poland is the Team for Monitoring Racism and Xenophobia (Zespół do Spraw Monitorowania Rasizmu i Ksenofobii), established in November 2004 within the Department of Denominations and National and Ethnic Minorities (Departament Wyznań Religijnych oraz Mniejszości Narodowych i Etnicznych) at the Ministry of the Interior and Administration (Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji). Since December 2007 the team has functioned within the Ministry’s Department of Control, Complaints and Petitions (Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji, Departament Kontroli, Skarg i Wniosków). The team was formed in order to ensure »the most effective realization of tasks imposed on the Ministry of Interior and Administration by the National Program for Counteracting Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.« (5) Some of the team’s tasks are:
• to develop a database on ethnic discrimination, racism and xenophobia
• to develop and implement a system of collection and analysis of socio-demographic data in cooperation with other government administration units in order to monitor incidents of racism, xenophobia and discrimination
• to develop and update educational materials for the police, border guards and government units operating at the voivodship (provincial) level, raising anti-racist awareness and preventing xenophobia and intolerance
• to analyze and prepare public reports on racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia in Poland
• to initiate and implement programs and strategies to prevent and combat racism, ethnic discrimination and xenophobia. (6)
The team’s tasks are carried out in close cooperation with non-governmental organizations that are active in preventing and fighting racism, anti-Semitism, racial discrimination and xenophobia. They are also working on building a database for cases of racial discrimination and violence, which should provide some information to the public. To our knowledge, the database has not yet been created. Some information, however, has been made available by request of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights: In the period between January and October 2005, the team received 23 notifications, nine of which concerned incidents of battery and eight related to cases of hate speech. The remaining six cases concerned complaints of mistreatment by public officials. The Ministry of Interior and Administration referred the latter cases to administrative institutions for resolution. Eight out of the nine cases of battery were reported to the police. In one case a victim did not want to report the incident to the police. Charges were filed in two cases, and the police were still investigating the remaining cases at the time of the report. Three of these reported violent attacks targeted Roma; the other victims were foreigners, including one Israeli citizen. Of the eight reported cases of hate speech, most of which were anti-Semitic in nature, five were submitted to the prosecutor’s office and three were discontinued. Notifications addressed to the team take various forms; at times they are only e-mails informing the team about an incident without further details of the circumstances. The team itself does not try to verify the validity of the reports made, nor does it judge the xenophobic character of the incidents. (7)
Two further bodies established within the police structures constitute new potential sources of information with regard to hate crimes: the Plenipotentiaries for Human Rights Protection Issues, active in all voivodship (provincial) police headquarters and police academies since December 2004, as well as the Plenipotentiary of the High Police Commissioner for Human Rights Protection. As described in the police action list for human rights in 2005, their responsibilities include collecting information on cases of racial and ethnic discrimination, anti-Semitism and xenophobia, instances of hate speech as well as activities of far-right and neo-Fascist groups. In 2005 the plenipotentiaries identified 15 hate crimes with a xenophobic background; two were cases of anti-Semitic hate speech. (8) Investigations were closed in two other cases because the perpetrators could not be identified. In another case, the perpetrator was charged, but no racist basis for the attack was identified by the court. The preliminary proceedings were not completed for the other cases. The victims of these cases were mostly dark skinned individuals and members of the Roma community. More recent information prepared on request by the Plenipotentiary of the High Police Commissioner for Human Rights Protection Issues from all voivodships’ police headquarters in Poland show 86 hate crimes between January and September 2007, of which at least 18 were anti-Semitic in nature. (9)
As reported by ODHIR, by June 2006 a special unit had been established at the Polish Police Headquarter to monitor and investigate potential threats to ethnic and religious minorities in Poland. (10) The Polish government also informed this organization of newly assigned officers to support efforts to combat right-wing extremism, but nothing is known about the scope of their activities. Furthermore, Poland has been participating in ODHIR’s Law Enforcement Program on Combating Hate Crimes, which was developed in cooperation with police experts from six member states of the OSCE. The implementation of the program in Poland was preceded by a visit from ODIHR experts in November 2006 who analyzed the needs of Polish authorities with respect to the issues covered by the program. The ODIHR experts consulted with representatives of government administrations, police agencies and some NGOs. Their discussions focused on five areas: policies and strategies with respect to counteracting hate crimes, the training of police officers in this field, the collection of information on hate crimes, the legal framework, as well as the consultation and involvement of local communities in the fight against hate crimes.
Even so, it remains unknown how many Polish police officers have received special training within the framework of the program and whether the program has led to changes in the registration system. Despite the fact that some selected NGOs were asked to take part in the consultation process, no follow-up information was provided to them. The Polish police and other law enforcement agencies have not taken any specific proactive measures to respond to the particular needs of communities affected by hate crimes, and no new strategies or programs have been devised. (11)
4. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2008. Anti-Semitism: Summary Overview of the Situation in the European Union 2001-2007, Vienna, p. 16.
5. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights 2005. Data Collection: RAXEN National Report: Poland, European Racism and Xenophobia Information Network, Warsaw, p. 47.
6. Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights 2005. Data Collection: RAXEN National Report: Poland, European Racism and Xenophobia Information Network, Warsaw, p. 47.
7. Ministerstwo Spraw Wewnętrznych i Administracji (n.d.), Zespół Monitorowania Rasizmu i Ksenofobii, Warsaw.
8 Helsiniki Foundation for Human Rights 2005. Data Collection, p. 47.
9. Ibid., p. 48.
10. European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights 2008. Anti-Semitism, p. 16.
11. Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) 2006. Challenges and Reponses to Hate-Motivated Incidents in the OSCE Region (Period: Jan-Jun 2006), Warsaw, p. 36.
(OPP)
