Crime of Abuse in the Light of University Students’ Opinions and Court Statistics
Crime of Abuse in the Light of University Students’ Opinions and Court Statistics

Summary/Abstract: The article is based on empirical data, and it presents the results of a public opinion survey on suggested penalties for the crime of abuse and comparison of those results with legally binding regulations as well as sample police statistics. It also provides the statistics of penalties imposed by courts for crimes under Article 207 of the Penal Code in the years 2016-2020. The research was aimed at understanding the viewpoint of the general public in the scope of the preferences regarding the minimum and maximum penalty of imprisonment for crimes specified in Article 207 of the Penal Code. The survey was conducted in March 2024 on the basis of the author’s own questionnaire, and it covered a group of 236 respondents – students. In addition, the article also refers to the amendment to the Penal Code of July 7, 2022, regarding Article 207 of the Penal Code. Opinions expressed by the respondents on criminal liability for the above-mentioned prohibited acts vary significantly from the limits specified in the Penal Code as well as from actual penalties imposed by courts. Survey results clearly show that the respondents demonstrated great severity in their views, which is particularly evidenced by the fact that as regards the maximum penalty from among the highest indicated to be imposed under Article 207 of the Penal Code, they primarily opted for the penalty of life imprisonment, which significantly exceeds the currently applicable penalties. Although, the introduction of new statutory limits of penalties for acts punishable by imprisonment under Article 207 § 3 of the Penal Code may undoubtedly be assessed positively, in view of the results of the survey conducted for the purposes of this article, the indicated penalties still seem to be too low. The respondents expressed their preference for long-term penalties of imprisonment, and even occasionally opted for the introduction of death penalty, which is currently not envisaged by Polish legislation.

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