There is indeed plenty to see and places to rest in Poland. Beaches on the Baltic coast and ancient Prussian castles, the architecture of former German cities and the charms of "green tourism" in the Polish countryside, mountain resorts and sanatoriums with mineral waters, and finally, the capitals of Polish kings: Krakow, Gniezno, and the country's current capital, Warsaw.
Over the past decade, the tourist infrastructure in these places has reached a fairly high level, and prices still remain at the level of Central European ones. It seems everything says that it is worth going to Poland. Only safety issues remain an unresolved problem for now. At train stations, bazaars, and simply on city streets, one can still too often become a victim of racketeers, robbers, and pickpockets.
Tourists from the "Slavic east" for some reason are especially "valuable" targets for these criminal elements. Possibly because they are not yet accustomed to seeking protection from the state - neither their own nor foreign... Add to this the opinion common in Europe that "Russian" tourists always carry a lot of money with them, and all of it in their pockets, not on credit cards. In any case, the danger of being robbed or burglarized really exists. However, this applies not only to Russian speakers and not only to tourists...
According to official statistics presented to journalists by the press service of the Polish police, in 2002, 3,497 foreigners became victims of thieves and burglars, and 1,478 cars were stolen from them; another 490 foreigners were subjected to robbery attacks, and five were killed. At the same time, Slawomir Cisowski, press secretary of the Chief Commandant of the Polish Police, admits that the official statistics do not fully reflect the situation with crimes against foreigners in general and tourists in particular. It is known that many victims of station racketeering simply do not turn to the police. The same is done by those whose belongings were stolen that are not too expensive, since staying for a couple of days to interact with the Polish police in such cases is more expensive for oneself.
Understanding that what convinces a tourist is not police statistics but what he sees during his travels in Poland, the Polish police, in cooperation with the Polish Tourism Organization, has taken a number of measures. First, since May 1 of this year, a free phone number (0800200300) has been in operation, by which a tourist can report his location and his problem, and a police patrol should be sent to him immediately. Second, in cities such as Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan, Szczecin and others, video cameras have been installed in the places most visited by tourists, with round-the-clock monitoring by a police duty officer. Only in the capital itself have a hundred such cameras been installed.
In addition, during tourist seasons, the police send a larger number of patrols to areas with a concentration of tourists. The police press service assures that all this brings results. In some places, the crime rate has dropped by 70%. These data are also confirmed by employees of the largest institute in Poland involved in promoting the tourism services of their country, the Polish Tourism Organization. "We are in constant contact with both the police and the management of the railways responsible for safety, in particular at train stations," says Katarzyna Sobierajska, director of the external relations department of the Polish Tourism Organization. "We fully support the police's efforts to increase the number of patrols both at train stations and on trains during travel, in order to minimize criminal incidents against tourists. We want to do everything possible so that a tourist coming to Poland feels as safe as possible."