Poland’s General Prosecutor’s Office establishes a specialized unit of prosecutors to handle hate crime cases nationwide.
Rising Hate Crimes and Social Tensions
The General Prosecutor’s Office informs about actions aimed at increasing the effectiveness of prosecuting bias-motivated crimes, pointing to growing social tensions, brutalization of public debate, and escalation of hatred on the Internet. In response to these phenomena, specialized units and a group of prosecutors have been designated to lead and supervise such proceedings throughout the country.
The phenomenon of hate crimes – including those targeting people of other nationalities – is linked to growing social tensions. As indicated by Prosecutor Anna Adamiak of the General Prosecutor’s Office: “The increase in bias-motivated crimes, including those directed against people of other nationalities, is a clear signal of growing social tensions.” In the same context, it was noted that “We simultaneously observe the brutalization of public debate and the normalization of contemptuous language toward different social groups.”
Internet’s Role in Escalating Hate
Attention was drawn to the role of the Internet as a space where hatred, disinformation, and violence escalate, as well as to the social consequences of these phenomena. The problem of low prosecution effectiveness in some cases and the reluctance of many victims to report crimes was also highlighted, which reinforces perpetrators’ sense of impunity and weakens trust in institutions.
Organizational Changes to Combat Hate Crimes
The General Prosecutor’s Office informs that the response of state institutions to the situation will be an organizational change regarding the conduct of proceedings. Prosecutor Anna Adamiak points out: “The response to this situation was the issuance by the Minister of Justice on February 4, 2026, of a regulation determining the competence of selected organizational units of the prosecutor’s office in cases of bias-motivated crimes, regardless of where they were committed.” The communiqué also stated that “Following this, the Prosecutor General issued on February 11, 2026, Regulation No. 4/26 on the designation of prosecutors to lead and supervise proceedings in cases of bias-motivated crimes”.
Specialized Prosecutors Nationwide
According to the General Prosecutor’s Office information, the adopted solutions are to concentrate the handling of cases in the hands of a designated, specialized group of prosecutors. “The adopted solutions will ensure that cases of this category will no longer be assigned to prosecutors from all district prosecutor’s offices, but to a specialized group of approximately 100 designated prosecutors working in 49 district prosecutor’s offices – one in each district, with the exception of the Warsaw district, where four district units have been designated – and to the Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Warsaw, designated as the specialized unit competent to handle the most time-consuming and complex cases.”
Enhancing Prosecution Capabilities
The Prosecutor General also announces actions to enhance the competencies of persons conducting and supervising proceedings, including cooperation with the National School of Judiciary and Prosecution and the involvement of specialists from areas related to this category of crime. One of the elements will be the development of methodological materials: “Work is also underway to prepare the ‘Methodology Handbook for Proceedings in Bias-Motivated Crime Cases,’ addressed to prosecutors, judges, and police officers.” The ongoing analysis of completed cases and using the findings to improve the efficiency of proceedings was also mentioned.
The Prosecutor’s Office emphasizes the purpose of the organizational changes, which is to strengthen the professionalization of law enforcement and a more effective response to bias-motivated crimes, including acts defined as hate speech. Prosecutor Anna Adamiak states: “All these actions constitute an important step toward the professionalization of law enforcement and increasing the effectiveness of responding to bias-motivated crimes, including acts defined as so-called hate speech.”
