Poland revises hate‑crime statistics methodology under new legal framework

In 2026 Poland introduced regulatory changes that alter how hate‑motivated crimes are recorded in police reports. New provisions from the Ministry of Justice and orders from the General Prosecutor expand the catalogue of offenses considered hate crimes and standardise procedures for investigations. The updated rules require prosecutors to handle cases involving bias based on race, nationality, ethnicity, religion, non‑religion or other protected characteristics, and they modify the data collection guidelines used for statistical reporting.

Because the catalogue of offences and the methodological approach differ from previous years, crime statistics for 2026 are not directly comparable with earlier data without accounting for these changes. The reforms aim to improve the accuracy and consistency of hate‑crime reporting across the country.